A registrar is a company accredited to register domain names in a top-level domain's registry on behalf of customers. You, the registrant, rent the name from the registry through the registrar, usually for 1 to 10 years at a time.
Why it matters
The registrar account is the master key to your domain. It controls the nameserver delegation, the contact email for renewal notices, the transfer lock and, if you use DNSSEC, the DS record. Lose access to that account, or let a card expire, and the domain can lapse and take your site and email down with it. A hijacked registrar login lets an attacker redirect everything.
Example
Registry: Verisign (.com)
Registrar: ExampleRegistrar, Inc.
Registrant: You
Status: clientTransferProhibitedThe clientTransferProhibited status is the registrar lock. ICANN rules also normally block transfers for 60 days after a new registration or a transfer between registrars.
Common mistakes
- Registering the domain under a developer's or agency's personal account and never recovering control.
- Using a contact email on the domain itself, so renewal and expiry notices are lost when the domain stops working.
- Relying on auto-renew without checking the payment method.
- Skipping two-factor authentication on the registrar login.
Related
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This page is general information written by our editorial team and updated when documentation changes. Servers and providers differ, so test changes safely first. See our editorial policy and disclaimer.