Single Webpage for ICANN RDS/WHOIS-Related Policies and Contract Provisions
Originally posted: 15 April 2013
Last updated: 30 October 2019
This webpage contains a listing of the ICANN agreement provisions, policies, advisories and Bylaws obligations related to gTLD Registration Data Directory Services (RDDS) – WHOIS and Registration Data Access Protocol (RDAP).1 For additional RDDS-related information, please also see lookup.icann.org and icann.org/rdap. For more information on Registration Data, please visit our Registration Data at ICANN page.
- ICANN Bylaws (as amended 18 July 2018)
- GNSO Consensus Policies
- Revised ICANN Procedure for Handling WHOIS Conflicts with Privacy Law (effective 18 April 2017)
- 2013 Registrar Accreditation Agreement
- Registry Agreements
- Contracted Party Advisories
- Legal Notices Requiring RDAP Service Implementation
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ICANN Bylaws (as amended 18 July 2018)
Article 4, Section 4.6 – Specific Reviews
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GNSO Consensus Policies
ICANN's agreements with accredited registrars and gTLD registry operators require compliance with various specifically stated procedures and also with "consensus policies." Some of these consensus policies relate to WHOIS issues. See http://www.icann.org/en/resources/registrars/consensus-policies for the authoritative list of consensus policies. At the time of publication of this webpage, the following GNSO Consensus Policies related to WHOIS are in force:
Interim Registration Data Policy for gTLDs (20 May 2019)
Additional WHOIS Information Policy (31 January 2016)
Thick WHOIS Transition Policy for .COM, .NET and .JOBS (7 February 2014)
Registry Registration Data Directory Services Consistent Labeling and Display Policy (9 January 2014)
WHOIS Marketing Restriction Policy (12 November 2004)
Restored Names Accuracy Policy (12 November 2004)
WHOIS Data Reminder Policy (27 March 2003)
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Revised ICANN Procedure for Handling WHOIS Conflicts with Privacy Law (effective 18 April 2017)
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2013 Registrar Accreditation Agreement
Definitions: Section 1.21 – Registry Database
Registrar Obligations:
Section 3.3 – Public Access to Data on Registered Names
Section 3.5 – Rights in Data
Sections 3.7.5.7 and 3.7.8 – Business Dealings, Including with Registered Name Holders
Section 3.12.2 – Obligations Related to Provision of Registrar Services by Third PartiesTerm, Termination and Dispute Resolution: Section 5.5.2.1.3 – Termination of Agreement by ICANN
Miscellaneous Provisions: Section 7.4.5.2 – Negotiation Process
WHOIS Accuracy Program Specification
Registration Data Directory Service (WHOIS) Specification
Specification on Privacy and Proxy Registrations
Registrar Information Specification: Section 14
Registrants' Benefits and Responsibilities: Domain Name Registrants' Responsibilities
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Registry Agreements
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Base Registry Agreement (as updated 31 July 2017)
Section 2.5 – Publication of Registration Data
Section 2.13 – Emergency Transition
Section 4.5 – Transition of Registry upon Termination of Agreement
Section 7.13 – Severability; Conflict with Laws
Specification 3 – Format and Content For Registry Operator Monthly Reporting: Section 2 – Registry Functions Activity Report
Specification 4 – Registration Data Publication Services:
Section 1 – Registration Data Directory Services
Section 3 – Bulk Registration Data Access to ICANN
Specification 5 – Schedule of Reserved Names
Specification 6 – Registry Interoperability and Continuity Specifications: Section 1 – Standards Compliance
Specification 10 �� Registry Performance Specifications:
Section 1 – Definitions
Section 2 – Service Level Agreement Matrix
Section 4 – RDDS
Section 6 – Emergency Thresholds
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At the time of publication of this webpage, the following legacy TLDs have not migrated to the Base Registry Agreements RDDS provisions.
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.aero TLD Sponsorship Agreement (11 June 2009)
Section 3.1(c)(v) – Covenants of Sponsor; Handling of Registry Data; WHOIS Service
Appendix 4 – Registry Operator's Monthly Report: Section 5 – WHOIS Service Activity
Appendix 5 – WHOIS Specifications
Appendix 7 – Functional and Performance Specifications:
Section A.4 – WHOIS Service Requirements
Section B.2.7 – Definitions; "WHOIS Service"
Section B.3.2 – Service Levels (Availability and Performance); WHOIS Service -
.com Registry Agreement (1 December 2012)
Section 3.1(c)(v) – Covenants of Registry Operator; Handling of Registry Data; WHOIS Service
Section 3.1(h) – Covenants of Registry Operator; Centralized WHOIS
Appendix 1 – Data Escrow Specification:
Exhibit A – Schedule for Escrow Deposits
Exhibit B – Escrow Deposit Format SpecificationAppendix 4 – Registry Operator's Monthly Reports:
Section A.5 – Monthly Report; WHOIS Service Activity
Section C – Registry Functions Activity ReportAppendix 5 – WHOIS Specifications
Appendix 7 – Functional and Performance Specifications:
Section 6 – Performance Specifications
Section 7 – Responsibilities of the PartiesSection 8.1 – Additional Services; Bulk Transfer After Partial Portfolio Acquisition (BTAPPA)
Section 9 – Implementation of New ProtocolsAppendix 8 – Registry-Registrar Agreement: Section 2.9 – Obligations of the Parties; Domain Name Lookup Capability
Appendix 10 – Service Level Agreement (SLA): Section 2 – SLA Credits
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.name Unsponsored Registry Agreement (1 December 2012)
Section 3.1(c)(v) – Covenants of Registry Operator; Handling of Registry Data; WHOIS Service
Appendix 4 – Registry Operator's Monthly Reports:
Section A.4 – Monthly Report; WHOIS Service Activity
Section D – Registry Functions Activity Report
Appendix 5 – WHOIS Specifications
Appendix 7 – Functional Specifications:
Section 9.1 – Additional Services; Bulk Transfer After Partial Portfolio Acquisition (BTAPPA)
Section 10 – Implementation of New StandardsAppendix 8 – Registry-Registrar Agreement: Section 2.9 – Obligations of the Parties; Domain Name Lookup Capability
Appendix 10 – Registry Performance Specifications:
Section 1.11 – Performance Specifications; "WHOIS Service"
Section 2 – Service Level Agreement Matrix
Section 3.2 – Service Levels (Availability and Performance); WHOIS Service
Appendix 11 – Registration Restrictions: Section 3(b)(iii) – Defensive Registrations; Common Defensive Registration Eligibility Requirements
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.net Registry Agreement (1 July 2017)
Section 3.1(c)(v) – Covenants of Registry Operator; Handling of Registry Data; WHOIS Service
Appendix 1 – Data Escrow Specification:
Exhibit A – Schedule for Escrow Deposits
Exhibit B – Escrow Deposit Format SpecificationAppendix 4 –Monthly Operators Reports:
Section A.5 – Monthly Report; WHOIS Service Activity
Section C – Registry Functions Activity Report
Appendix 5-5A – WHOIS Specifications
Appendix 7 – Functional and Performance Specifications:
Section 1.5 – Standards Compliance; IPv6
Section 1.6 – Standards Compliance; IANA Rootzone Database
Section 6 – Performance Specifications
Section 7.3 – Responsibilities of the PartiesSection 8.1 – Additional Services; Bulk Transfer After Partial Portfolio Acquisition (BTAPPA)
Appendix 8 – Registry-Registrar Agreement: Section 2.9 – Obligations of the Parties; Domain Name Lookup Capability
Appendix 10 – Service Level Agreement: Section 2 – SLA Credits
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.post Sponsored TLD Registry Agreement (11 December 2009)
Section 3.1(c)(v) – Covenants of Sponsor; Handling of Registry Data; WHOIS Service
Appendix 4 – Sponsor's Monthly Report: Section 5 – WHOIS Service Activity
Appendix 5 – WHOIS Specifications
Appendix 7 – Functional and Performance Specifications:
Section 4 – WHOIS Service Requirements
Section 7 – Performance SpecificationsAppendix S – : Part VI – Public WHOIS Specification
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.xxx Registry Agreement (31 March 2011)
Section 3.1(c)(v) – Covenants of Registry Operator; Handling of Registry Data; WHOIS Service
Appendix 5 – WHOIS Specifications
Appendix 7 – Functional and Performance Specifications:
Section 4 – WHOIS Service Requirements
Section 7 – Performance SpecificationsAppendix S – WHOIS Specification:
Part 6 – Public Whois Specification
Attachment 1 –.xxx Product ListSection VI – Amendment to Appendix 4 – Registry Operator's Monthly Reports: Section 2 Registry Functions Activity Report
Section VII – Amendment to Appendix 5 – WHOIS Specifications
Section VIII – Amendment to Appendix S, Part 6 – WHOIS Specification
Amendment 4: Section 1.d. – Appendix 9 – Public Interest Commitments – Section d. – Registry Operator's Right to Disqualify Registration
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Base Registry Agreement (as updated 31 July 2017)
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Contracted Party Advisories
Clarifications to the Registry and Registrar Requirements for WHOIS (port 43) and Web-Based Directory Services (as updated 25 May 2018)
Clarifications to the 2013 Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA) WHOIS Accuracy Specification (16 November 2015)
Registrar Implementation of the 2013 RAA's WHOIS Requirements (31 July 2013)
Registrar Advisory Concerning the "15-day Period" in WHOIS Accuracy Requirements (3 April 2003)
Steps to Improve WHOIS Data Accuracy (3 September 2002)
Registrar Advisory Concerning WHOIS Data Accuracy (10 May 2002)
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Legal Notices Requiring RDAP Service Implementation
Registrar legal notice re: RDAP service implementation (27 February 2019)
Registry legal notice re: RDAP service implementation (27 February 2019)
1 The listing contains the RDS/WHOIS-related agreement provisions and policies that address access to and accuracy of public registration data.