fTLD Registrar - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) How do I become an fTLD registrar? See the information at BECOME AN fTLD REGISTRAR for details on the process. fTLD Registry System Who operates the fTLD Registry System? Verisign is the Registry Service Provider and Symantec is the Verification Agent. Is there a web interface available for registrars to process registrations for fTLD? No, fTLD registration is not supported by a web interface to EPP. Registration is initially first-come, first-served, but what is used to determine which registration arrived first? The registration that arrives at the EPP editor first and is put into pending create will lock the domain name until verification is either approved or rejected. Can eligible registrants register any domain name(s) they want? Any domain name(s) that corresponds to the registrant’s trademarks, trade names or service marks can be registered during General Availability. For guidance on selecting domains, please see the fTLD Name Selection Policies and their Implementation Guidelines here. Are there any differences between the “corresponds to” rule for domain names in .BANK and .INSURANCE? Yes, in .INSURANCE domain names must correspond to a trademark, trade name or service mark of the Applicant in bona fide use for the offering of goods or services, or provision of information, in the jurisdiction where the registrant is licensed, approved or certified to conduct business. Please consult section 3.1 of the .INSURANCE Name Selection Policy for specific information. When does the five-day (5) Add Grace Period start since domain names are put into a pending create status when initially registered? The five-day (5) Add Grace Period starts when the domain name has been put in pending create status by Verisign. Can a registrar delete a domain name after the five-day (5) Add Grace Period? Yes, a domain name can be deleted after the Add Grace Period. However, the registrar would not receive any refund from Verisign. Are there specific instances where an exemption will not be given to registrars for the AGP (Add Grace Period) Limits Policy? Exemptions will not be made under the AGP Limits Policy if the registrant submits multiple domain names for registration and verification and then deletes all but one domain name during the Add Grace Period. Registrars should discourage the potential use of this process by registrants. Is Registry Lock available for domain names? No, Verisign’s Registry Lock service is currently unavailable for domain names. When Verisign is ready to support it, all approved registrars will be notified of its availability. How is the registrar notified when a registration has been approved or rejected? When fTLD confirms (either approval or rejection) the verification order, Symantec will generate an email to the registrar and registrant unless the registrar has turned off the notification feature. When fTLD confirms the Verisign registration, an EPP polling message to update the status of the transaction will be generated. How is the registrant notified when their registration has been approved or rejected? Once fTLD confirms the verification performed by Symantec on the Verisign system, the registrar should generate their standard message to the registrant confirming that the registration has been approved or rejected based on the EPP message from Verisign. When a domain name is approved or rejected on Symantec, an email on that action is also sent to the registrar and registrant unless the registrar has turned that feature off as described in the Symantec Verification Guide for .BANK and Symantec Verification Guide for .INSURANCE (“Symantec Verification Guides”). Can a domain name in the pending create status be registered by someone else? No, a domain name in the pending create status is not available for registration and will return a “domain is not available” message for any EPP inquiries on the domain name. If a registrar submits 15 domain names for verification in one order and five of the domain names are not approved, will all 15 domain names be rejected? No, each domain name is verified separately and the ten that pass all validations including the relevant fTLD Name Selection Policy will be approved and the other five will be rejected. If all of the domain names are rejected or the registrant verification fails then the entire order will be rejected with an order status of Cancelled. If any of the domains are approved, then the order status will be set to Completed. The status of each domain will be reflected in the Domain Information area as either Rejected or Approved. Does fTLD accept all single and two-character names for registration? fTLD has made single-character and most two-character names available in .BANK and .INSURANCE (except certain two-letter domains still reserved by ICANN). These previously reserved names are available on first-come, first-served basis subject to fTLD’s Registrant Eligibility and Name Selection Policies. As these names are deemed premium, they are subject to a higher initial and renewal registration fee. For more information about the specific two-character names that are available please see the information here. Are there any premium names in .BANK and .INSURANCE? Yes, the premium names in .BANK and ,INSURANCE are currently all single-character and certain two- letter names as detailed here. 2 Are there any special requirements by Verisign or Symantec for registrars to be able to offer fTLD Premium Names? Yes, registrars need to select the appropriate option in Exhibit A of Verisign’s Platform Access Order Form for each fTLD domain supported to be able to sell fTLD premium names. If a registrar did not initially select this option for the desired fTLD domain, they should contact Verisign at cao@verisign- grs.com to update their Form(s). There are no specific requirements from Symantec to be able to offer premium names. Will fTLD be using a specific auction provider to handle premium name sales and other auction opportunities? There is currently no auction process established for fTLD. Registrars will be notified if a process is created. Can fTLD registrants sell/transfer their domain names? Yes, domain names can be sold/transferred. However, the new registrant must meet fTLD’s Registrant Eligibility and Name Selection Policies for the domain name and must also successfully be verified by Symantec. If fTLD does not approve the transfer, registrars will need to work with fTLD to restore the domain name ownership to the original verified registrant. Where can I find the lists of fTLD’s Reserved Names in .BANK and .INSURANCE? The lists are available here. What information is available to registrars and registrants to assist in the activation of fTLD Domains? The following resources have been developed in consultation with members of the financial services community and are intended to: Support the planning and implementation of an fTLD Domain Provide a framework for communicating an fTLD Domain plan to registrant employees, customers and other stakeholders Educate registrant executives, technology teams and/or third-party providers about the value of the robust security technologies and practices of an fTLD Domain. fTLD has incorporated the lessons learned and implementation solutions from early adopters into three guides that are designed to help registrants transition to a new fTLD domain. In addition, a planning checklist is provided to highlight the tasks that need review by a registrant implementation team. Implementation Planning Checklist Planning and Communications Guide Executive Guide to Security Requirements Technical Guide to Security Requirements These guides and the checklist can be downloaded here. fTLD Verification Is there a way to submit Symantec Orders without using the Symantec API? Yes, a web interface (“Web Form”) is available for registrars to submit Symantec orders if they have or anticipate having less than 50 total .BANK or .INSURANCE domain names under management. Registrars can also use the Web Form for Bi-annual Re-verification Orders even if they have more than 50 .BANK or .INSURANCE registrations under management. 3 If you want to see if you are eligible to use the Symantec Web Form to submit your Symantec orders, please contact fTLD at [email protected] for more details. Please note that all information needed for the API version is still needed for the Web Form version. What information is provided to Symantec for use in the fTLD verification process? Complete information for all fields in the Symantec order is provided in the Symantec Verification Order API Developer's Guide (“Symantec API documentation”), which is provided to fTLD approved registrars. For both .BANK and .INSURANCE, a Re-verification Type is required for Symantec orders submitted for existing domains. The specific requirement can be found in the Special Instructions field of the Symantec API documentation. What additional information is required for .BANK verification and how is it provided to Symantec? This additional information specific to .BANK is provided in the Special Instructions field that is detailed in the Symantec API documentation: Government Regulatory Authority Name – This information is required unless it is not applicable to the registrant type (e.g., trade associations, service providers). Regulatory ID Number – This information is required unless it is not applicable to the registrant type (e.g., trade associations, service providers). Human Resources Contact name and telephone number – Contact information to verify the employment information of the registrant contact. Registrant’s Management Contact name and telephone number – Contact information to verify that the registrant contact is authorized to register the domains requested. What additional information is required for .INSURANCE verification and how is it provided to Symantec? In addition to the Human Resources and Registrant’s Management Contact information, the following information is required for .INSURANCE orders and is detailed in the Special Instructions field of the Symantec API documentation.