ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) is the nonprofit organisation responsible for coordinating the global domain name system (DNS). Every registrar that sells .com, .net, .org, and other generic top-level domains (gTLDs) must be ICANN-accredited.
What ICANN accreditation means for buyers
When you buy a domain from an ICANN-accredited registrar:
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The registrar has agreed to ICANN’s Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA) a legal contract specifying minimum service standards, data handling requirements, and transfer rights.
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You have transfer rights ICANN rules guarantee your right to transfer a domain to any other ICANN-accredited registrar within 60 days of registration (the 60-day transfer lock period), and at any point after that.
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WHOIS accuracy requirements registrars must verify contact information and maintain accurate WHOIS data (privacy protection services satisfy this requirement by substituting privacy proxy contact details).
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Dispute resolution ICANN’s Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) provides a mechanism for trademark holders to challenge abusive domain registrations.
What ICANN does NOT do
ICANN does not set domain pricing. Registrars set their own prices within the wholesale rate set by the registry (Verisign for .com, etc.). This is why .com renewal prices vary from $8.57 (Cloudflare, at-cost) to $21.99 (GoDaddy) same registry, very different registrar margins.
ICANN does not regulate country-code TLDs (ccTLDs) like .co.uk, .de, .fr. These are managed by national registries under their own governance structures.
The registrar vs registry distinction
Registry: The organisation that operates a specific TLD. Verisign operates .com. The registry sets the wholesale price that registrars pay.
Registrar: The company you buy from (Namecheap, GoDaddy, Cloudflare, Porkbun). They pay the registry’s wholesale price, add their margin, and sell to you. The margin varies enormously from zero (Cloudflare, which charges at-cost) to 3–5x wholesale (promotional pricing at traditional registrars).
The 60-day ICANN transfer lock
ICANN requires a 60-day lock on domain transfers after:
- Initial registration of a new domain
- Completion of a registrar-to-registrar transfer
- Certain WHOIS contact information changes
During the lock period, you cannot transfer the domain to a different registrar. After the lock expires, transfers can be initiated at any time and typically complete within 5–7 days.
Plan around this: if you register a domain at one registrar and decide to move it, you’ll wait 60 days before the transfer can begin.