<s>
Domain	B-Protocol
registration	I-Protocol
is	O
the	O
process	O
of	O
acquiring	O
a	O
domain	O
name	O
from	O
a	O
domain	B-Application
name	I-Application
registrar	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1993	O
the	O
U.S.	O
Department	O
of	O
Commerce	O
,	O
in	O
conjunction	O
with	O
several	O
public	O
and	O
private	O
entities	O
,	O
created	O
InterNIC	O
to	O
maintain	O
a	O
central	O
database	O
that	O
contains	O
all	O
the	O
registered	O
domain	O
names	O
and	O
the	O
associated	O
IP	B-Protocol
addresses	I-Protocol
in	O
the	O
U.S.	O
(	O
other	O
countries	O
maintain	O
their	O
own	O
NICs	O
(	O
Network	B-Protocol
Information	I-Protocol
Centers	I-Protocol
)	O
--	O
there	O
is	O
a	O
link	O
below	O
that	O
discusses	O
Canada	O
's	O
system	O
,	O
for	O
example	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Network	O
Solutions	O
,	O
a	O
member	O
of	O
InterNIC	O
,	O
was	O
chosen	O
to	O
administer	O
and	O
maintain	O
the	O
growing	O
number	O
of	O
Internet	O
domain	O
names	O
and	O
IP	B-Protocol
addresses	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Each	O
ICANN-accredited	O
registrar	B-Application
must	O
pay	O
a	O
fixed	O
fee	O
of	O
US$	O
4,000	O
plus	O
a	O
variable	O
fee	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
sum	O
of	O
variable	O
registrar	B-Application
fees	O
is	O
intended	O
to	O
total	O
US	O
$3.8	O
million	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Domain	B-Protocol
registration	I-Protocol
information	O
is	O
maintained	O
by	O
the	O
domain	B-Protocol
name	I-Protocol
registries	I-Protocol
,	O
which	O
contract	O
with	O
domain	B-Application
registrars	I-Application
to	O
provide	O
registration	O
services	O
to	O
the	O
public	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Domain	B-Application
registrar	I-Application
examples	O
include	O
GoDaddy.com,	O
Domain.com,	O
Google	B-Protocol
Domains	I-Protocol
,	O
and	O
IONOS	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
end	O
user	O
selects	O
a	O
registrar	B-Application
to	O
provide	O
the	O
registration	O
service	O
,	O
and	O
that	O
registrar	B-Application
becomes	O
the	O
designated	O
registrar	B-Application
for	O
the	O
domain	O
chosen	O
by	O
the	O
user	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Only	O
the	O
designated	O
registrar	B-Application
may	O
modify	O
or	O
delete	O
information	O
about	O
domain	O
names	O
in	O
a	O
central	O
registry	O
database	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
the	O
dedicated	O
registrar	B-Application
is	O
the	O
only	O
entity	O
that	O
can	O
modify	O
or	O
delete	O
information	O
regarding	O
domain	O
names	O
in	O
the	O
central	O
registry	O
,	O
there	O
are	O
many	O
that	O
allow	O
you	O
to	O
sell	O
domains	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
You	O
do	O
not	O
have	O
to	O
become	O
a	O
designated	O
registrar	B-Application
in	O
order	O
to	O
sell	O
and	O
register	O
domains	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
a	O
registrar	B-Application
registers	O
a	O
com	O
domain	O
name	O
for	O
an	O
end-user	O
,	O
it	O
must	O
pay	O
a	O
maximum	O
annual	O
fee	O
of	O
US	O
$7.34	O
to	O
VeriSign	B-Application
,	O
the	O
registry	B-Protocol
operator	I-Protocol
for	O
com	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
US	O
$0.18	O
annual	O
administration	O
fee	O
to	O
ICANN	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
domain	B-Application
registrars	I-Application
price	O
their	O
services	O
and	O
products	O
to	O
address	O
both	O
the	O
annual	O
fees	O
and	O
the	O
administration	O
fees	O
that	O
must	O
be	O
paid	O
to	O
ICANN	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Barriers	O
to	O
entry	O
into	O
the	O
bulk	O
registrar	B-Application
industry	O
are	O
high	O
for	O
new	O
companies	O
without	O
an	O
existing	O
customer	O
base	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
end-user	O
registers	O
either	O
directly	O
with	O
a	O
registrar	B-Application
,	O
or	O
indirectly	O
through	O
one	O
or	O
more	O
layers	O
of	O
resellers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
2010	O
,	O
the	O
retail	O
cost	O
generally	O
ranges	O
from	O
a	O
low	O
of	O
about	O
$7.50	O
per	O
year	O
to	O
about	O
$35	O
per	O
year	O
for	O
a	O
simple	O
domain	B-Protocol
registration	I-Protocol
,	O
although	O
registrars	O
often	O
drop	O
the	O
price	O
far	O
lower	O
–	O
sometimes	O
even	O
free	O
–	O
when	O
ordered	O
with	O
other	O
products	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
registrars	O
offer	O
longer	O
periods	O
of	O
up	O
to	O
100	O
years	O
,	O
but	O
such	O
offers	O
involve	O
the	O
registrar	B-Application
renewing	O
the	O
registration	O
for	O
their	O
customer	O
;	O
the	O
100-year	O
registration	O
would	O
not	O
be	O
in	O
the	O
official	O
registration	O
database	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Registration	O
of	O
a	O
domain	O
name	O
establishes	O
a	O
set	O
of	O
Start	B-Protocol
of	I-Protocol
Authority	I-Protocol
(	O
SOA	O
)	O
records	O
in	O
the	O
DNS	O
servers	O
of	O
the	O
parent	O
domain	O
,	O
indicating	O
the	O
IP	B-Protocol
address	I-Protocol
(	O
or	O
domain	O
name	O
)	O
of	O
DNS	O
servers	O
that	O
are	O
authoritative	O
for	O
the	O
domain	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Without	O
DNS	O
services	O
for	O
the	O
domain	O
,	O
the	O
registration	O
is	O
essentially	O
useless	O
for	O
Internet	O
services	O
,	O
although	O
this	O
situation	O
is	O
often	O
encountered	O
with	O
domain	B-Protocol
parking	I-Protocol
and	O
cybersquatting	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
domain	O
name	O
transfer	O
is	O
the	O
process	O
of	O
changing	O
the	O
designated	O
registrar	B-Application
of	O
a	O
domain	O
name	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ICANN	B-Application
has	O
defined	O
a	O
Policy	O
on	O
Transfer	O
of	O
Registrations	O
between	O
Registrars	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
end	O
user	O
verifies	O
that	O
the	O
whois	B-Protocol
admin	O
contact	O
info	O
is	O
correct	O
,	O
particularly	O
the	O
email	O
address	O
;	O
obtains	O
the	O
authentication	O
code	O
(	O
EPP	B-Protocol
transfer	I-Protocol
code	I-Protocol
)	O
from	O
the	O
old	O
registrar	B-Application
,	O
and	O
removes	O
any	O
domain	B-Protocol
lock	I-Protocol
that	O
has	O
been	O
placed	O
on	O
the	O
registration	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
the	O
whois	B-Protocol
information	O
had	O
been	O
out	O
of	O
date	O
and	O
is	O
now	O
updated	O
,	O
the	O
end-user	O
should	O
wait	O
12	O
–	O
24	O
hours	O
before	O
proceeding	O
further	O
,	O
to	O
allow	O
time	O
for	O
the	O
updated	O
data	O
to	O
propagate	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
end	O
user	O
contacts	O
the	O
new	O
registrar	B-Application
with	O
the	O
wish	O
to	O
transfer	O
the	O
domain	O
name	O
to	O
their	O
service	O
,	O
and	O
supplies	O
the	O
authentication	O
code	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
gaining	O
Registrar	B-Application
must	O
obtain	O
express	O
authorization	O
from	O
either	O
the	O
Registered	O
Name	O
Holder	O
or	O
the	O
Administrative	O
Contact	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
transfer	O
may	O
only	O
proceed	O
if	O
confirmation	O
of	O
the	O
transfer	O
is	O
received	O
by	O
the	O
gaining	O
Registrar	B-Application
from	O
one	O
of	O
these	O
contacts	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
by	O
e-mail	O
to	O
the	O
e-mail	O
addresses	O
listed	O
in	O
the	O
WHOIS	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
new	O
registrar	B-Application
starts	O
electronically	O
the	O
transfer	O
of	O
the	O
domain	O
with	O
the	O
help	O
of	O
the	O
authentication	O
code	O
(	O
auth	O
code	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
old	O
registrar	B-Application
will	O
contact	O
the	O
end	O
user	O
to	O
confirm	O
the	O
authenticity	O
of	O
this	O
request	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
end	O
user	O
may	O
have	O
to	O
take	O
further	O
action	O
with	O
the	O
old	O
registrar	B-Application
,	O
such	O
as	O
returning	O
to	O
the	O
online	O
management	O
tools	O
,	O
to	O
re-iterate	O
their	O
desire	O
to	O
proceed	O
,	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
expedite	O
the	O
transfer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
old	O
registrar	B-Application
will	O
release	O
authority	O
to	O
the	O
new	O
registrar	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
new	O
registrar	B-Application
will	O
notify	O
the	O
end	O
user	O
of	O
transfer	O
completion	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
new	O
registrar	B-Application
may	O
have	O
automatically	O
copied	O
over	O
the	O
domain	O
server	O
information	O
,	O
and	O
everything	O
on	O
the	O
website	O
will	O
continue	O
to	O
work	O
as	O
before	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Otherwise	O
,	O
the	O
domain	O
server	O
information	O
will	O
need	O
to	O
be	O
updated	O
with	O
the	O
new	O
registrar	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
this	O
process	O
,	O
the	O
new	O
registrar	B-Application
is	O
the	O
domain	O
name	O
's	O
designated	O
registrar	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
some	O
cases	O
,	O
the	O
old	O
registrar	B-Application
may	O
intentionally	O
delay	O
the	O
transfer	O
as	O
long	O
as	O
allowable	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
transfer	O
,	O
the	O
domain	O
cannot	O
be	O
transferred	O
again	O
for	O
60	O
days	O
,	O
except	O
back	O
to	O
the	O
previous	O
registrar	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
could	O
result	O
in	O
loss	O
of	O
the	O
domain	B-Protocol
name	I-Protocol
registration	I-Protocol
and	O
failure	O
of	O
the	O
transfer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
a	O
domain	B-Protocol
registration	I-Protocol
expires	O
,	O
irrespective	O
of	O
the	O
reason	O
,	O
it	O
can	O
be	O
difficult	O
,	O
expensive	O
,	O
or	O
impossible	O
for	O
the	O
original	O
owner	O
to	O
get	O
it	O
back	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
February	O
2010	O
ICANN	B-Application
zone	O
file	O
access	O
concept	O
paper	O
explains	O
that	O
most	O
country	O
code	O
TLD	O
(	O
ccTLD	O
)	O
registries	O
stopped	O
providing	O
zone	O
files	O
in	O
2003	O
,	O
citing	O
abuse	O
.	O
</s>
