On December 1, 2016, ICANN enforced a new transfer policy that updated the process of changing domain ownership from one registrant to another.
Up until now, this policy only covered domain transfers between registrars. The new policy now also covers the process of changing ownership of the domain from one entity to another (registrant to registrant). Now, every time a change of registrant takes place, a series of confirmation and approval emails are triggered, i.e. updates to a registrant’s first name, last name, organisation and email address and will require email approval before going into effect.

FAQ

Q: Does this affect country code top-level domains (ccTLDs) such as .UK?
A: No, this applies to global top-level domains (gTLDs) such as .com and .net.
Q: What would trigger this change of registrant process?
A: Making any change to the first name, last name, organisation field, or email within the registrant contact object, will start the process. An approval email will go out to both the old and new registrants.
Q: What happens if it’s not an actual transfer but minor updates to first name, last name, email or organisation field?
A: At this time, any change to any of those fields will begin the change of registrant process.
Q: Who has to approve the change of registrant request?
A: Both the new and the prior registrant need to approve the change of registrant request.
Q: What if I am both the old and the new registrant?
A: You will be required to approve the change of registrant request twice.
Q: What happens if the new registrant approves the request but the old registrant denies the request?
A: This will cancel the whole request and the whois will revert back to the previous registrant’s info.
Q: What happens if the new registrant denies the request?
A: The change of registrant request is cancelled and the previous whois info remains the same.
Q: What happens if I am the new registrant and I do not receive the email request to approve the change of registrant?
A: Please contact CWCS, we will be able to resend the email, otherwise the process will timeout. You will need to start the process again using a different email address.
Q: How long does the new registrant have to approve the request before it expires/times out?
A: 7 days from the change request.
Q: What happens if I submit another change of registrant request when one is currently pending?
A: The first request will be cancelled.
Q: What if I don’t have access to my old email address?
A: It is possible to change the phone number in the WHOIS without requiring authorisation, if you update this to a mobile phone number, CWCS can then resend verification notification via SMS text message which will allow you to approve other changes. Please contact CWCS at [email protected] if you need us to resend the verification via text message.
Q: After a Change of Registrant, are there any restrictions on transferring that name?
A: If you want to transfer and change the registrant at the same time, you should transfer the domain first, and then the change the registrant. Failure to do so will result in your domain being locked for 60 days.
Q: Is there any way to opt out of the 60-day lock after a change of registrant is applied?
A: Yes, CWCS will offer the prior registrant a chance to opt out of the 60 days’ transfer lock at the time of the initial Change of Registrant request.