Understanding the Designated Agent (DA)

A Designated Agent (DA) is a person or entity authorized to consent, on behalf of the registrant or new registrant, to a Change of Registrant (COR) on a generic top-level domain (gTLD). The DA concept comes from the ICANN Transfer Policy and is what allows resellers to manage owner-change requests without forcing both parties to confirm every change by email. This article explains what a DA is, what role it plays in the COR process, and how it changes the customer experience.

Where Designated Agent fits in the Change of Registrant flow

When a gTLD registrant changes (a "material change" to first name, last name, organization, or email address), ICANN's Transfer Policy requires explicit consent from both the prior registrant and the new registrant. By default, OpenSRS sends a confirmation email to each party, and both must click to approve before the change takes effect.

The Designated Agent provision lets a third party — typically you, the reseller — consent on their behalf, removing the email confirmation step. The contractual relationship between you and your customer authorizes you to act as their DA.

Note: DA only applies to gTLDs governed by ICANN's Transfer Policy. ccTLDs follow registry-specific change procedures and are not affected.

What changes when DA is enabled

When DA is enabled on your account:

• No email confirmation is sent. The COR completes immediately after the change is submitted, provided all other conditions are met.
• The reseller assumes responsibility. By acting as DA, you confirm that both the prior and new registrant have authorized the change.
• The 60-day transfer lock still applies. A material change still triggers the ICANN 60-day inter-registrar transfer lock unless the registrant opts out at the time of change.

When DA is disabled, OpenSRS sends standard ICANN confirmation emails to both the prior and new registrant. The change does not complete until both parties click their confirmation links.

Who should enable DA

DA is most valuable for resellers who:

• Manage domain ownership on behalf of customers through a control panel of their own.
• Need to complete CORs without the friction of waiting for customer email confirmation.
• Have terms of service in place that authorize them to act as the registrant's agent.

Resellers without those contractual provisions should leave DA disabled to ensure the email confirmation step protects both parties from unauthorized changes.

Warning: Acting as Designated Agent is a contractual responsibility. Confirm your reseller terms of service authorize you to consent to ownership changes on behalf of your customers before you enable DA.

The 60-day transfer lock

Any material change to registrant contact information triggers a 60-day lock that prevents the domain from being transferred to another registrar. Registrants may opt out of this lock at the time of the change. Whether DA is enabled or not, the 60-day lock follows the same rules.

Next steps

• Review your terms of service. Confirm your customer agreement permits you to act as their Designated Agent.
• Enable or disable DA in the Reseller Control Panel. Use How to Enable/Disable Designated Agent (DA) for COR Process.
• Understand the COR workflow end to end. Review the full Change of Registrant (COR) for gTLD domains process.

Questions? Contact OpenSRS Support.