Why Did I Get a WHOIS Verification Request and How Do I Complete It?

You received a WHOIS verification request because ICANN's Registrar Accreditation Agreement requires registrars to confirm that the WHOIS information on each registered domain is accurate and up to date. As the domain owner, you are responsible for keeping that record correct. You have 15 days from the date of the first notice to complete verification. If you miss that window, the domain is suspended and all services tied to it stop working — though the domain stays registered to you, the expiry date does not change, and everything works again once you verify.

What triggers a WHOIS verification request

Verification is not random. It is triggered by one of these events:

• A new domain is registered with new (never before verified) registrant information
• A domain is transferred to a new registrar
• Any change to the registrant contact information
• A change of ownership (the name of the registrant)
• A notification of inaccuracy — for example, an automated annual WHOIS reminder email sent to the registrant bounces

How to complete verification

The primary path is email:

1. Your registrar sends a verification request email to the registrant (owner) email address listed on the domain's WHOIS record.
2. Click the link in that email. It takes you to a website showing the domain's WHOIS information.
3. Click the VERIFY button on that page. This step is required — clicking the link alone does not complete verification.

There is also a control panel path. Once the verification process has been initiated, a button appears in the Domain Manager App in your control panel that lets you re-send the verification email to the domain owner contact.

If you never received the verification email

First, check whether the deadline has passed. If verification is still pending (the 15 days have not elapsed), the domain owner receives a daily email asking them to complete verification.

• If the contact email on the domain is valid: use the button in the Domain Manager App to re-send the email.
• If the registrant contact email on the domain is wrong: log into the control panel and use the Domain Manager App to update the incorrect information. That update triggers a new verification email to the new email contact.

What happens if you miss the 15-day deadline

Suspension is reversible. Completing verification restores the domain without changing your ownership or expiry date, so the practical cost of missing the deadline is downtime, not loss of the domain.

Check your current WHOIS info

Before or after verifying, confirm that the registrant email on the domain is accurate — that address is where every verification and reminder notice goes. If it is outdated, fix it in the Domain Manager App first, since the correction itself triggers a fresh verification email to the new address.