Domain name registrar

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Domain name registrar

A domain name registrar is an organization or commercial entity that manages the reservation of Internet domain names. A domain name registrar must be accredited by a generic top-level domain (gTLD) registry and/or a country code top-level domain (ccTLD) registry. The registrar operates in accordance with the guidelines of the designated domain name registries.

Functions

Domain name registrars provide services to individuals and organizations who wish to register a domain name. These services include:

• Domain name registration
• Domain name transfer
• Domain name renewal
• Domain name privacy

Registrars maintain a database of registered domain names and their associated IP addresses. They also provide tools for managing domain name settings, such as DNS records.

Accreditation

To become a domain name registrar, an entity must be accredited by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) for gTLDs or by the relevant national authority for ccTLDs. Accreditation involves meeting specific technical, operational, and financial criteria.

Popular Domain Name Registrars

Some of the well-known domain name registrars include:

• GoDaddy
• Namecheap
• Bluehost
• Google Domains
• Network Solutions

Related Concepts

• Domain name system
• Web hosting service
• Internet service provider
• Uniform Resource Locator

See Also

• Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
• Top-level domain
• Domain name system
• Web hosting service