WHOIS Email Verification
As you may know, ICANN refreshes the agreement all accredited registrars (such as HostBlast) from time-to-time. As part of the 2013 Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA), ICANN began enforcing a new rule requiring registrars to verify Registrant contact information used in WHOIS. You can read here for more details on ICANN's web site.
How do I know if I need to verify my email address?
Simple. Just log in to your account. If you have any email addresses that need to be verified you will see a large, red box on the top of every page on our site after logging in.
When does HostBlast perform WHOIS verification?
Our system will email the email address used as the Registrant contact role for all domains immediately upon registration or transfer completion of a domain. Also, removing WHOIS Privacy or updating the contact information used for the Registrant of a domain will trigger verification.
The triggers listed above apply only to email addresses that have not been previously verified for the account holder.
How does WHOIS verification work?
Our system will send an email containing 2 different options for verifying the address (only one is required to be completed):
- A clickable link
- A web site address to visit where the email address and a code supplied in the email verification request may be entererd.
What happens if I do not verify my email address?
Registrars are required to deactivate any domains for which email verification has not been completed within 15 days of initial notification. Deactivation entails placing the domain on clientHold status which entirely disables the domain including web site, email and any other services used by the domain.
What do I do if I did not receive an email verification request?
You can visit the Contact Email Verification page at any time to see a list of verified and non-verified email addresses associated with domains in your account. You can use the "Re-Send Verification" links on that page to have the verification emails re-sent.
How often are reminder emails sent if I do not verify the first email verification request?
Our system will send reminders every 4 days to the Registrant email address up until the 15th day. Also, if the Registrant email address does not match the email address of the account holder, then the account holder will receive a reminder every 3 days.
What if my email address is marked as undeliverable?
Our system will place an alert icon in the "Status" column for any email addresses that we have internally marked as undeliverable. If you see that icon you will not be able to re-send the email verification for that email address. You can however trigger our system to send a test message to the email address in question. If that mail is successfully delivered then it will be unblocked and you will be able to then re-send the verification email.
How long does it take to reactivate my domains after verification?
Any domains deactivated as a result of not verifying an email address happens immediately after verification is completed.
I am a Reseller. How will my customers be notified?
The email verifications use the same system as other system-based notifications (such as transfer approval requests, WDRP notices, etc.). More specifically, our system will send private-labeled notifications to your customers with links referencing the generic web site with no mention of HostBlast.
Do I need to verify an email address with no domains associated with it?
The only requirement besides what has already been covered above is that your default contact profile email address must be verified in order to participate in auctions or receive a domain push from a different HostBlast account.
Is email verification required for other registrars?
Yes, email verification is required by all ICANN-accredited registrars who have signed the 2013 RAA.
