When you buy a domain name, you will get lots of emails about it. All of them are important. But some are more important than others, and one of those is the ICANN WHOIS Contact information validation email you will get from Blacknight. If you ignore this email, your domain will be suspended (which means your website, email, etc., will go offline immediately).
When you register a new domain name, transfer one, or change the contact details – within 15 days, you will get this ICANN (the governing body for domain names globally) email from Blacknight to confirm your contact details. This is the information that is stored in the WHOIS system (the directory of all domain names, which, thanks to GDPR, is now no longer publicly accessible). To be clear, this is an ICANN process that we don’t have control over that we have to do and that you must comply with.
Here’s the official explanation from ICANN:
As of January 1, 2014, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has mandated that all ICANN accredited registrars begin verifying the WHOIS contact information for all new domain registrations and contact modifications.
As the registrar of record for the following domains, Blacknight Internet Solutions Ltd. is required to ensure your email address is correctly verified.
The following domains have contact information associated with your email address, and failure to verify your address before xxxx-xx-xx by following the link above may result in their suspension:
This mandatory notification is sent to the domain’s official contact’s email address a maximum of fifteen (15) days, ten (10) days, five (5) days and shortly prior to the suspension date detailed above. It was sent in accordance with ICANN policy, which is available for you to read here:
https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/approved-with-specs-2013-09-17-en#whois-accuracy
So, it’s a simple thing. When you see this email, simply click the link to validate your contact details. It doesn’t take long at all. It’s not a Phishing or Sales email; it’s an administrative email that cannot be ignored. Your information is not public.
When it comes to this process – you will not get a letter in the post warning you of suspension; you will not get a phone call or a knock on the door. Click the link that verifies your email address, or your domain will be shut off by ICANN.
You must validate your contact information for new domain registrations, new domain transfers, and any contact information updates. Again, if you don’t do this – all your domains could be taken offline. This process also applies if you change ownership of a domain or update contact information – everything must be validated. If it’s not validated, the domain will be suspended, and we cannot prevent this as the registrar.
If you get this email – all you have to do is click the link to validate your email address.
If you ignore this email and don’t validate your contact details and your domain was suspended, don’t panic. You can get it back by validating your contact information as soon as possible (and you can request a new validation email yourself in your account interface – details here). The domain will remain suspended until it expires (at which point someone else could buy the domain name).
If, for some reason, you’re not receiving the domain validation email from Blacknight, please contact Blacknight sales team so we can troubleshoot and get the message to you. Do not wait to do this!
About the Author: Jonathan Thomas
