Registrar vs registry vs registrant

The three roles in one example

Imagine registering example.com. The .comregistry maintains the central database for that top-level domain. An accredited registrar sells and manages the registration through its customer account. The person or organisation holding the registration is the registrant. A reseller may sit between the customer and the registrar, but the registry record still identifies the sponsoring registrar.

What does a domain registry do?

A registry operates the authoritative registration database for one or more domain endings. It accepts changes from registrars, maintains central domain objects and publishes services such as RDAP. Examples include the operator of .com and Nominet for .uk. Registry policies and lifecycle rules help determine statuses, renewals and deletion processes.

What does a domain registrar do?

A registrar provides the customer account used to register, renew, transfer and configure a domain. It can set client-side locks, update nameserver details and submit changes to the registry. It also handles billing and account security. For most operational problems, the registrar is the correct first contact.

To find a registrar, run the domain registrar lookupand check the registrar fact or the entity with the registrar role. Confirm the identity using the authoritative source link before sharing account information.

What does a registrant control?

The registrant holds the contractual registration rights, subject to the registrar agreement and registry policy. The registrant should keep account access, contact information, renewal settings and payment details secure and current. Public RDAP data may not reveal the registrant's personal identity because contact fields can be redacted.

Who should you contact?

• Renewal, transfer, account access or nameserver change: contact the registrar or the reseller that manages your account.
• Unexpected client status: ask the registrar because it normally controls statuses beginning with client.
• Unexpected server status: start with the registrar; it can escalate a registry-set restriction.
• Abuse or rights issue: use the published registrar, registry or hosting-provider reporting route appropriate to the issue.

See the domain status code guideto distinguish registrar and registry locks.