Overview
Due to ICANN's Transfer Policy, any change made to the registrant's name, organization, or email address will put the domain in a 60-day transfer lock; it will also trigger notification emails that are sent to the old and new registrants notifying them of the change.
Please visit the following article for further details:
Any Generic Top Level Domain (gTLD) New Registrations or Contact Modifications (WHOIS update for First Name, Last Name, Email Address, aka "Contact info") must be verified by the Registrant. This is a policy created by ICANN, not DreamHost.
Who is ICANN?
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is a nonprofit organization that coordinates the Internet's global domain name system. ICANN requires that DreamHost implement this verification policy to remain in compliance. You can read more about ICANN at the following link:
Why do I have to do this?
This is the largest set of changes included in the RAA policy as required by ICANN. All registrars who have signed the latest RAA agreement are required to do this.
What is a gTLD?
Generic Top Level Domain (gTLD) are popular domains such as .com, .net, .info, .org, and so on. The verification policy is required for these domains. You can view more information about a gTLD at the link below:
Receiving the email confirmation
When you make any change to your WHOIS information, ICANN locks your domain for a 60-day period unless you opt-out.
When you change your WHOIS information, two or more emails are sent to notify you of this change.
Do not use an email address associated with your domain as the WHOIS contact address. For example, if your domain is example.com, do NOT use an address on the same domain, such as contact@example.com.
This email is sent to the WHOIS contact email address you have added to your registration's WHOIS information. View the following article for instructions on viewing and editing this information in the panel.
The first email is sent from do-not-reply@dreamhostregistry.com. The second is sent from support@dreamhost.com. If you changed the WHOIS contact email, a third email is sent to the new email address.
If you haven't verified your contact info before, you must verify the 'Contact Info' by clicking the link in the email within 15 calendar days of the domain's registration/Contact Modification. Within those 15 days, this email is sent 4 times (Day 1, 5, 10, and 15) until the Registrant verifies it. If by the 16th day, the Registrant fails to verify the 'Contact Info', then the Domain is suspended, and a final email is sent to the Registrant.
Other info about the verification process
- The verification emails are sent by do-not-reply@dreamhostregistry.com.
- Once a contact is verified, future registrations do not require further verification (so long as the 'Contact Info' is the same).
Resend the verification email
Contact support if you need the verification email resent. Support can resend the email from the registry.
This email can only be resent to the WHOIS contact email address you have added to your registration's WHOIS information. View the following article for instructions on editing this information in the panel.
Suspended domains
What happens when my account is suspended?
- Once a domain is suspended, in accordance with ICANN policy, the DNS is taken over, and a page is put up on your site stating that the domain is not verified, along with instructions for the owner to verify. An example of a suspended page is shown below.
- Once a site is down, the site remains down indefinitely until the Registrant verifies the domain. No further emails are sent until the customer takes action.
- Suspended domains can be renewed and can also be transferred.
DreamHost strongly recommends un-suspending and fixing any issues on an account before proceeding with a renewal or transfer because:
- Site service won't work in that state, and
- A suspension due to an invalid contact also causes the transfer approval emails to go to an inactive mail user, so you likely won't be able to approve the transfer of a suspended domain name either.
Visiting the site, you'll see a message stating, "You have reached a domain that is pending ICANN verification.".
After verification
Once a suspended domain is verified, the suspended page shows the Verified status. It may take 24 to 48 hours for DNS changes to propagate before the site is restored.
When you visit the domain, a message appears stating, "You have reached a domain that was pending verification per ICANN rules but has since been verified. It may take 24 to 48 hours for the website to come back online."