First and foremost, our hearts go out to the millions of people in the Republic of Türkiye and Syrian Arab Republic who are impacted by the recent earthquakes that have resulted in a massive loss of life, injuries, and infrastructure damage.
We are hearing from our contracted parties that domain name registrants in the affected areas may be unable to renew their domain names in a timely manner. As a result, registrants risk losing their domain names due to circumstances beyond their control.
To help these registrants, the earthquakes in the Republic of Türkiye and Syrian Arab Republic are now considered an extenuating circumstance under Section 3.7.5.1 of the 2013 Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA).
Based on this approval, Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) accredited registrars will be permitted to temporarily forbear from canceling domain registrations that are unable to be renewed by registrants. We encourage registrars and registries to support this action when reviewing domain name renewal delinquencies in the affected areas.
ICANN organization is continuing to monitor the situation and evaluate additional methods of support to those affected. If you have questions, please reach out through standard channels, including via the Naming Services portal for contracted parties, or by sending an email to globalsupport@icann.org.
