On January 1st, 2014, ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) updated the Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA). The revised RAA significantly tightened the responsibilities of both domain registrars and registrants to eliminate orphaned and lost domains (i.e., domains for which the registrant’s contact information is unavailable or invalid). This also helps prevent ownership disputes.
All domain names must have accurate contact information in line with ICANN’s RAA. We collect this information when you register a domain name, which can be found and updated within your Hostko client area. You must maintain valid contact details for your domain at all times, even if you are using our domain privacy option to hide your details from the global WHOIS search.
How do I validate my domain names?
When you update the contact information for any of your existing domains or register a new domain, a verification message may be sent to the registrant’s email address.
You must respond to this email.
If you do not respond within 15 days, the domain will be suspended and placed into ClientHold status. This will affect any services that rely on it. Although the suspension can be reversed, reactivating the domain may take up to 72 hours. These policies are mandated by ICANN and are implemented directly by our registration partners. We cannot intervene or be held responsible if you fail to comply with these new requirements.
What if I don’t receive the validation email?
If you haven’t received the validation email, it’s possible that it went to your spam folder or that you provided incorrect contact details. Please check carefully to make sure this isn’t the case.
If the validation emails are rejected, it means the email address is invalid, and the domain name will be suspended and put in ClientHold status.
What if my domain gets suspended?
If your domain gets suspended, you can log into your Hostko client area and update your domain name contact records. Once you have corrected the details, raise a support request, and we will request that the validation email be resent. After you successfully validate your domain name, it will be unsuspended, although this process may take up to 72 hours.