A domain carries its own contact records at the registry, separate from your Client Area profile.
THE CONTACT TYPES
- Registrant: the legal holder. This is the one that matters.
- Administrative: handles administrative matters.
- Technical: handles technical matters.
- Billing: receives billing correspondence.
They are often the same person, but the registrant is the one with legal standing.
WHERE TO UPDATE THEM
Domains > My Domains > click the domain > Contact Information.
Updating your Client Area profile does not change these. Both need attention.
WHY IT MATTERS
Registry expiry notices go to the registrant address. If it is out of date or on a domain that has itself expired, you never see the warning. Transfer approval requests go to the registrant address. A transfer cannot complete if that address is unreachable. In a dispute, the registrant record is the evidence of ownership.
A COMMON MISTAKE
Registering a domain in a web designer's name rather than the client's. When the relationship ends, the client discovers they do not own their own domain. If you register on behalf of a client, put the client as registrant.
Some extensions treat a registrant change as a transfer and apply a lock afterwards.
