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ICANN Public Comment: Initial Report on Transfer Policy Review - Phase 1(a)

21 June 2022

The Transfer Policy Review Policy Development Process Working Group is seeking input on the preliminary recommendations contained in its Initial Report, as well as on several outstanding questions on which the working group has not yet reached agreement. This Public Comment proceeding is presented as a series of structured questions.

Proposals for Your Input:

Initial Report on the Transfer Policy Review Policy Development Process – Phase 1(a).

Background:

The Transfer Policy, formerly referred to as the Inter‐Registrar Transfer Policy (IRTP), is an ICANN consensus policy that went into effect on 12 November 2004. The policy governs the procedure and requirements for registrants to transfer their domain names from one registrar to another, also referred to as an inter-registrar transfer. The goal of the Transfer Policy was to provide for enhanced domain name portability, resulting in greater consumer and business choice, and enabling registrants to select the registrar that offers the best services and price for their needs.

In February 2021, the Generic Names Supporting Organization Council (GNSO Council) initiated a two-phased policy development process (PDP) to review the Transfer Policy. The PDP is tasked with addressing the following topics:

  • Phase 1(a): Form of Authorization (FOA) (including EPDP Phase 1, Recommendation 27, Wave 1 FOA issues), AuthInfo Codes, and Denying (NACKing) transfers.
  • Phase 1(b): Change of Registrant (including EPDP Phase 1, Recommendation 27, Wave 1 Change of Registrant issues).
  • Phase 2: Transfer Emergency Action Contact and reversing inter-registrar transfers, Transfer Dispute Resolution Policy (including EPDP Phase 1, Recommendation 27, Wave 1 TDRP issues), ICANN-approved transfers.

For additional background on this PDP, please refer to Annex A of the Phase 1(a) Initial Report.

Next Steps:

The working group will review the Public Comment submissions received on this Initial Report and consider whether any changes need to be made to its Phase 1(a) recommendations. The working group will complete Phase 1(b) of its work, including a Phase 1(b) Initial Report followed by a public comment period on the Phase 1(b) Initial Report. The working group will finalize all Phase 1 recommendations in a single Phase 1 Final Report to be sent to the GNSO Council.

To participate in the Public Comment proceeding please visit this website https://www.icann.org/en/public-comment/proceeding/initial-report-on-the-transfer-policy-review-21-06-2022

Supporting Information:

About ICANN

ICANN's mission is to help ensure a stable, secure, and unified global Internet. To reach another person on the Internet, you need to type an address – a name or a number – into your computer or other device. That address must be unique so computers know where to find each other. ICANN helps coordinate and support these unique identifiers across the world. ICANN was formed in 1998 as a nonprofit public benefit corporation with a community of participants from all over the world.