Your domain contacts are the individuals or entities on record for your domain registration. There are up to four types, each with a different role and level of authority: registrant, administrative, technical, and billing.
Understanding who holds each role, and keeping that information accurate, protects your ownership rights and ensures you receive critical communications about your domain.
This applies to ICANN-sponsored domains (gTLDs such as .com, .net, .org, .info, and .biz). Under ICANN's updated Registration Data Policy (effective August 2025), only the registrant contact is universally required.
Administrative, technical, and billing contacts are optional for most gTLDs, though some registries may still require them. Country code domains (ccTLDs) follow their own registry rules.
Registrant - The Legal Owner
The registrant is the legal owner of record and the most important contact on any domain registration. This is the only contact type that is always required.
When you purchase a domain through 101domain, you are the registrant by default. Your registrant record includes:
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Full name (or organization name, if registering on behalf of a business)
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Email address
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Phone number
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Mailing address
Only the registrant can authorize a domain transfer or resolve an ownership dispute. Security alerts, renewal notices, and policy updates are all sent to the registrant contact - if you no longer have access to the registered email address, you may lose the ability to act on these.
ICANN requires registrant information to be truthful and kept up to date. Providing inaccurate information can result in domain suspension.
Registrant details may be visible in Registration Data Directory Services (RDDS), previously referred to as the WHOIS Database.
Administrative Contact: The Domain Manager
The administrative contact manages the domain on the registrant's behalf. They can act as the registrar's point of contact for day-to-day matters and receive administrative notifications, but they hold no ownership rights. In any dispute, the registrant record always takes precedence.
Providing an administrative contact is optional for most gTLDs.
Technical Contact: The DNS Manager
The technical contact is responsible for the technical operation of the domain, such as managing name servers and DNS settings.
Providing a technical contact is optional for most gTLDs.
For full details on your options and how personal information is handled for this role, see Domain Technical Contacts.
Billing Contact: Invoice and Renewal Communications
The billing contact is the person or role named to be responsible for paying registration and renewal fees for a domain name. They are not the legal owner and hold no authority over the domain itself. If no billing contact is specified, these communications default to the registrant.
Providing a billing contact is optional for most gTLDs.
A Note on Business Registrations
Avoid using an individual employee's personal email for any contact role. If that person leaves the organization, critical notifications and transfer authorizations may go undelivered and recovering access can be difficult.
Where possible, use role-based email addresses (such as domains@yourcompany.com) and set the registrant to the organization rather than an individual.
For more information, see Importance of Maintaining Accurate Registrant Information and Difference Between the Registry, Registrar and Registrant.
To update your contacts, see How to Update Domain Contact Information.
If you have any questions, contact our Support Team at 877.983.6624 (US) or +1.760.444.8674 (International).