Domains: Domain Disputes / changing ownership of domains

Answer ID: 9025

There is a domain/website for a company/entity, which is not in my name, but I own it and would like to change the name to me. The person whose name is on the domain right now may be un-contactable and/or not cooperative. What can I do?

Note: If there is not a dispute of domain ownership, but you are trying to obtain a domain owned by someone else, see the HepDesk article: Get a domain that is owned by somebody else

The best way to settle a domain ownership issue is to try to contact the person whose name is on the domain right now. Due to the GDPR privacy policy that domain names now abide by, there is most likely not domain registrant contact information listed in the domain's WHOIS information. Doing a domain WHOIS search (like at tucowsdomains.com/whois-search) will still show some information like the domain registrar, expiration date, and sometimes a link to a contact form in order to contact the domain registrant. Also, you can contact us, and we can reach out to the current listed domain owner on your behalf.

If you know the contact info or are able to directly contact the current domain owner/registrant, and they are cooperative, you can do one of a few things to change ownership of the domain:

• You can keep the same account, and just get the account login details from the current owner/registrant to manage the domain(s). 
• You can have the domain(s) pushed into another account with us, by creating a new account with us, then letting us know the login ID. Pushing the domain into another account with us is a simple and quick process. 
• You can also transfer the domain to another registrar if needed.

If you are able to contact the current domain owner/registrant, but they are not cooperative, and you also have a trademark on the company name / domain name, there are formal ways to settle a domain dispute as a legal filing. You can refer to the "Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy (UDRP)" as outlined by ICANN.

Different ccTLD's (country code top-level domain) may have different dispute policies or processes to go through as well. You can look these up at the ccTLD registry's website. For example, Nominet (the .uk registry) has a domain dispute process that they mediate - http://www.nominet.uk/domains/resolving-uk-domain-disputes-and-complaints/.

Note: If you know the domain owner is not cooperative in transferring ownership, and the domain is about to expire, if you would like, you can attempt waiting for the domain to expire or backordering the domain to obtain it (see the HelpDesk article here: (Expire/Backorder) Get a domain that is owned by somebody else). However, this option does not guarantee obtaining the domain as the current owner may renew the domain, or someone else may register the domain again before you.

If you are not able to contact the current domain owner/registrant, you can let us know, and we can work with you to see what can be done. If you do not know the current domain owner's contact information, you can contact us, and we can reach out to the current listed domain owner on your behalf.