What Is Registrant? Domain Glossary

Why it matters

The registrant, not the registrar or web developer, is the legal holder. This matters in every sale because the seller must prove they control the registrant account before money moves. A frequent problem: a freelancer or agency registered the name under their own account, so the business cannot sell it. Buyers should ask who the registrant is and check it against the account that will push the domain. A change of registrant can also start a transfer lock, so plan for that before you set a closing date.

Source: icann.org

Where we use this term

Related terms

Registrar: A registrar is a company that sells domain registrations to the public. It checks that a name is available, sends the registration to the registry, collects owner details and lets the owner manage settings afterward.
Change of registrant: A change to the registered owner's name, organization or email on a domain. Under ICANN's current policy, it needs approval from both old and new owners and usually triggers a 60-day lock on moving to another registrar.
Proof of ownership: Evidence that a seller controls a domain, usually shown by logging into the registrar, matching registration data, or placing a requested code in the domain's DNS records.
WHOIS: The older public lookup system for domain registration data, such as the registrar, dates and contacts. Many fields are now hidden for privacy, and ICANN now points users to RDAP-based lookup tools.
Inter-registrar transfer: An inter-registrar transfer moves a domain from one ICANN-accredited registrar to another. The new registrar asks for an authorization code, and the registry completes the move once both sides approve.

All 205 terms

Why it matters

Where we use this term

Buying or selling a domain?