(Last updated June 30, 2015)
The ICANN Whois Accuracy Program (WAP) applies to all ICANN registrars accredited under the 2013 RAA (Registrar Accreditation Agreement).
easyDNS’ accreditation auto-renewed on June 23, 2015 at which point easyDNS is now subject to enforcing the Whois Accuracy Program.
We originally posted about this on our blog: Unfortunately, we have renewed our ICANN accreditation.
This document will address many of the questions our members have about the WAP and is presented in a min-FAQ format.
What Top Level Domains does this affect? / Does this affect .CA domains?
The WAP applies to “generic Top Level Domains” (gTLDs) only.
This includes “legacy” gTLDs such as: .COM .NET .ORG .BIZ .INFO
It includes new gTLDs such as: .SUPPORT .EMAIL .SYSTEMS .FINANCIAL .GURU .XYZ .WTF et al
It does not apply to country code TLDs (ccTLDs) such as: .CA .DE .CC .TV .FR .US et al
*WAP does NOT apply to .CA domains.*
Please note: some ccTLDs have their own Whois verification requirements. .CA is already subject to Canadian Presence Requirements (CPR) and .UK recently enacted a policy similar to, and in some ways more stringent than, the WAP.
What triggers the WAP process? / Do all applicable domains have to be verified?
The WAP is triggered by specific events in the domain lifecycle. It is very possible that many, perhaps all, of your domains will never have to be verified if you never change your information.
Any new registration, transfer in, contact updates to registrant [First Name, Last Name or e-mail address], WDRP or mandatory renewal reminders bounce back will trigger the validation process.
This ONLY affects the registrant contact [the domain owner] and NOT the Administrative, Billing or Technical contact.
Things that trigger a WAP are:
| Domain transfer | A registrar transfer triggers the WAP process after the transfer completes.
This is distinct from merely changing a domain’s nameserver delegation, which does not trigger the WAP |
| Domain registration | A new domain registration triggers the WAP when it uses an unverified contact set for the registrant. First name, last name, and e-mail address are a contact set.
This means that once you’ve verified a contact, and used that contact again to register another domain, it does not trigger a new WAP process. |
| WDRP notice bounces | If in the course of e-mailing a Whois Data Reminder Policy (WDRP) that e-mail bounces or fails with a permanent error, the WAP process is triggered. |
What is the lifecycle of the verification process?
Here is a sample copy of the verification page that you will be directed to.
What does ‘suspend’ mean?
If you have not taken any action to verify the domain, then the domain will be suspended after the 15-day period. This means that the domain’s DNS service will no longer resolve. The domain will be placed on ClientHold until the registrant contact does complete the WAP process.
What do I need to do to complete the WAP process?
When you register, transfer or update the owner information for your domain, the owner [registrant] e-mail address listed in the Whois record will receive an e-mail from easyDNS providing instruction on how to verify your domain. You will click on the link provided and go to the verification page [as shown in the graphic above] and click on the blue ‘verify information’ button. The process is then complete.
What is ‘Whois’?
The Whois is the registration record for a domain name. This includes the registrant, the administrative contact, the technical contact, and the billing contact. Other information provided is the registration and expiry dates, the delegated nameservers, and the current registrar.
What is the Whois Data Reminder Program (WDRP)?
All registrars (whether accredited under the 2013 or the 2009 RAA) are required to send all domain registrants an e-mail that lists the current Whois record for their domains at least once a year.
Under the 2013 RAA, if these notices bounce, the WAP process is triggered.
Can I pre-verify my domains? / Can you send me the link now?
The WAP is triggered by specific events in the domain lifecycle (See above). Absent these trigger events you cannot “pre-verify” your domains.
How can I get the verification e-mail resent?
If you need the verification re-sent, please log into your easyDNS account and click on the ‘whois’ link to the right of the domain, and at the top of the page is a link ‘resend verification email‘.
What e-mail address will the WAP notices come from?
WAP notices will originate from whois@easydns.com
How can I verify the notice is really from easyDNS?
easyDNS publishes SPF data for easydns.com.
Because we use Tucows openHRS registry stack, we are somewhat constrained on what else we can do to provide authentication. We are currently evaluating developing our own WAP implementation to provide additional validation methods.
What if I use Whois Privacy?
If you use MyPrivacy.net Whois Privacy, the contact sets that need to be verified, and the WAP notices sent, will be sent to the underlying contact data on file for the domain, not the masked data set.
What if I use MyPrivacy.ca?
If your whois record is not masked with Whois Privacy but does use a @myprivacy.ca address to reduce spam and data mining, the myprivacy system is configured to whitelist the WAP notices.
If my domain is suspended can it be taken by somebody else?
No. A suspended domain will not resolve on the internet (or resolve to a landing page explaining the suspension), but still remains registered to you and the normal renewal, expiry cycle applies. The domain’s status will be ClientHold.
What do I do now that the domain is suspended and I want to verify it?
If you have the verification e-mails regarding the WAP process, you can follow the instructions to complete the verification process. If the e-mail address for the registrant is old, then simply update the Whois record to an e-mail you do have access to and a new verification e-mail will be sent. If you need the verification re-sent, please log into your easyDNS account and click on the ‘whois’ link to the right of the domain, and at the top of the page is a link ‘resend verification email‘.
My domain was suspended and I’ve now verified it, how long until it’s working again?
Validating the domain name immediately removes the ClientHold status. Depending on how long the domain was suspended and how many servers have it cached, it could take a few hours to fully resolve everywhere.
What steps will easyDNS take if my domain is about to be suspended?
We will be creating a process to track all domains within the WAP cycle. We will attempt to reach out and warn our customers of the process their domain is going through in hopes of preventing the service from being suspended. Due to the high volume of domains, we may not be able to contact everyone, unfortunately.
Please keep your account contact information up to date!
What if easyDNS is not my domain registrar?
If we are not your registrar, you will not receive WAP notices from us. Your current registrar may or may not already be operating under the 2013 RAA, you will need to check with them if they are and how they are implementing it. Many registrars are already operating under the 2013 RAA such as Tucows (Hover), Webnames, Godaddy, and eNom.