Domain Validation Requirements
Last updated
Table of Contents
- Why does domain validation exist?
- How do domain validation emails work?
- What does the verification email look like?
- How do I resend the verification email?
- What happens when a domain is suspended?
- What happens if the registrant email address cannot receive email?
- How does this differ from NIS2 verification?
- Have more questions?
Domain registries and organizations that oversee domain name registrations require validation of your registrant email address whenever a new domain is registered or your registrant’s name, organization, or email address is changed. This validation helps ensure the accuracy of contact information in the domain registration database and protects domain owners from unauthorized changes.
For most top-level domains, validation is required by ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) under the WHOIS Accuracy Program Specification of the 2013 Registrar Accreditation Agreement. Failure to validate your registrant email address results in suspension of the domain name after 15 days of non-compliance.
Note
This validation is separate from NIS2 contact email verification. ICANN validation is sent from noreply@emailverification.info and can lead to suspension. NIS2 verification is sent from support@dnsimple.com and does not cause suspension. A domain can require both at the same time.
Why does domain validation exist?
ICANN requires domain validation to maintain the accuracy of the WHOIS database, which contains contact information for all registered domains. Accurate contact information is essential for resolving disputes, handling security incidents, and ensuring that domain owners can be reached when necessary. Without validation, the database could contain outdated or incorrect email addresses, making it impossible to contact domain owners for critical matters such as transfer authorizations, security alerts, or legal notices.
The validation requirement also protects domain owners by ensuring that any changes to registrant information are verified. This prevents unauthorized modifications that could lead to domain hijacking or loss of control over a domain.
How do domain validation emails work?
When you change a domain’s registrant, the confirmation screen tells you whether the change starts the ICANN 60-day transfer lock. When you edit the name, organization, or email address of a contact that is the registrant on any domain, the contact page shows a Registrant verification required notice.
Shortly after you register a domain or change the registrant, the registrant email address receives a verification email. You only need to verify each email address once.
Note
DNSimple also sends an account email when registrant verification is pending and a domain risks being placed on hold. That alert is separate from the registry verification message that contains the confirm link. If you use the API, the matching webhook is domain.registration_notice; see the webhook events documentation and the EventDomainRegistrationNotice schema in the OpenAPI spec.
What does the verification email look like?
When registering a new domain
When changing or updating the registrant contact
The email is sent from noreply@emailverification.info. The message will contain a verification link that goes to https://www.emailverification.info/.
How do I resend the verification email?
If you are having trouble finding the email verification in your inbox, please remember to check your spam folder.
If it is not there, resend the email from your domain’s page in DNSimple. A Registrant verification required warning appears at the top of the page, with the date the registry will suspend the domain when the registry has set one. Click Resend domain registration verification.
Once the email is verified, the warning disappears. If it is still showing, click Resend domain registration verification again. When the address is already verified, DNSimple does not send another email. Instead, it updates the status and shows Registrant verification email not sent: Registrant has been verified.
What happens when a domain is suspended?
If your domain is suspended because the registrant email address was not verified in time, the name servers will be changed to the following:
- ns1.emailverification.info
- ns2.emailverification.info
Domain suspension due to validation failure is a registry-level action that overrides your DNS settings. This means your website, email, and all other DNS-dependent services will stop working because the domain’s name servers are changed to point to the verification service. The suspension affects all DNS resolution for the domain, not just specific services. This is why validation is critical for maintaining domain functionality.
Visitors to your website see a page saying that the domain is suspended:
On this suspension page, you will find instructions on how to verify the registrant information.
However, if your domain is suspended, and you do not receive a verification email, this is likely because the email services associated with your domain have stopped working due to the suspension. To resolve this, update the registrant contact information to an active email address.
Once the contact information has been updated and verified, a new verification email will be automatically sent. Click the link in that email to complete the validation process. After verifying the email, the domain suspension will be lifted.
If your domain was suspended, it may take between 24 and 48 hours for the suspension to be removed after verification. This is due to DNS caching.
DNS caching means that name server changes propagate gradually across the internet. Even after the registry updates your domain’s name servers back to your original settings, some DNS resolvers around the world may still have cached the old verification name servers. This propagation delay is normal and expected, and your domain will resume normal operation once DNS caches expire and refresh.
What happens if the registrant email address cannot receive email?
You must be able to receive an email at the registrant email address to complete the verification process. If you set up the email address after registration or changing your registrant details, resend the verification email from the domain’s page. If you cannot resend it yourself, contact support and include the domain name that you need to verify.
How does this differ from NIS2 verification?
ICANN registrant validation and NIS2 contact email verification are separate processes, and only one of them can suspend a domain.
| ICANN registrant validation | NIS2 contact email verification | |
|---|---|---|
| Applies to | The registrant contact on a domain | Any domain contact |
| Sent from | noreply@emailverification.info | support@dnsimple.com |
| If ignored | The domain is suspended after 15 days | The contact remains unverified; the domain is not suspended |
You may receive both for the same domain. Completing one does not complete the other.
Have more questions?
If you need assistance or have any questions about domain validation, contact support, and we’ll be happy to help. You can also read more about domain registration at DNSimple.
Want to learn more about the policy requiring domain validation? Read the WHOIS Accuracy Program Specification in ICANN’s 2013 Registrar Accreditation Agreement.