How to Verify Your Email Address for ICANN Compliance
ICANN requires accredited registrars to verify certain registrant contact information after events such as a new registration, an inbound transfer, or changes to registration data. NameSilo handles this by sending a verification request to the registrant email address when verification is required.
If that email address remains unverified for 15 days after the initial notice, NameSilo places the affected domain on clientHold. The domain remains registered to you, but DNS stops resolving, which can take your website, email, and subdomains offline until verification is completed.
What Is the ICANN WHOIS Accuracy Program Specification?
It is a requirement in the 2013 Registrar Accreditation Agreement, the contract every ICANN-accredited registrar signs. It obliges us to email the registrant and obtain an affirmative response within 15 days of a registration, transfer, or contact change. Without one, the registrar must verify the contact manually or suspend the domain. ICANN's own guidance says registrars "must suspend or delete domain names that are not timely verified." Every accredited registrar must apply it, so this is ICANN policy, not a NameSilo choice.
Why It Matters: Your Site Goes Dark
When the 15 days pass, we place a clientHold status on the domain. That removes it from DNS, so your website, email, and subdomains stop working at once. The domain is not deleted, and it remains yours.
You are warned before the domain is suspended. We email the registrant address every four days during the 15-day verification period, and if the NameSilo account holder uses a different email address, we notify that address every three days as well. After login, a red alert at the top of the account lists email addresses that still require verification. If an address has been marked as undeliverable, an alert icon also appears in Contact Manager so you can test or correct it before requesting another verification email.
Finding the Email
We send the message right after you register or transfer a domain, to the registrant email on your contact profile, even with WHOIS Privacy enabled. Search your inbox, then spam and promotions folders. Your 15 days start when we send it, not when you open it.
Resending the Verification
If the original is lost, you can trigger a new one:
Log in and open Contact Manager.
Select the Email Verification tab.
Click Re-Send Verification next to the address.
Open the new email and click the link.
If our messages never arrive, update the email on the contact profile in Contact Manager, then resend to the new address from the Email Verification tab. An alert icon in the Status column means the address is undeliverable. Request a test message, and once it delivers you can resend.
We reactivate domains immediately after verification. DNS caches can take a few hours, occasionally up to 24, before your site loads everywhere.
Common Mistakes
The most frequent error is fixing a typo by changing the WHOIS email. If you change the registrant contact to an email address that has not previously been verified for the account holder, that address will need to be verified. Fix incorrect contact details promptly and complete any new verification request as soon as it arrives.
A fake address guarantees suspension after 15 days. Removing WHOIS Privacy or changing registrant details also triggers fresh verification.
What This Means for You
Keep an active, verified contact profile in Contact Manager. Your default profile applies to all four contact roles on new registrations and transfers, so verify its email first. Check a domain's status with our WHOIS lookup and manage profiles with our Contact Manager guide to manage your profiles.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is my domain suspended for ICANN compliance?
ICANN's registrar agreement requires us to verify your registrant email within 15 days, or suspend the domain.
How do I verify my domain email address?
Click the link in the email we sent, or resend it from the Email Verification tab in Contact Manager.
What happens if I don't click the ICANN verification link?
After 15 days it enters clientHold, and your website and email go offline until you verify.
How long does ICANN verification take to reactivate a site?
We reactivate it immediately. DNS caches may take a few hours, up to 24, to refresh.
How do I resend the domain verification email?
Open the Email Verification tab in Contact Manager and click Re-Send Verification.
Why did NameSilo take my website down?
ICANN requires registrars to suspend unverified domains, and we send reminders every 4 days first.
What does clientHold status mean?
A registrar-applied status that removes the domain from DNS, taking your website and email offline.
How do I update my email address at NameSilo?
Edit the email on your contact profile in Contact Manager, then verify it from the Email Verification tab. A new 15-day cycle begins.
NameSilo Staff
The NameSilo staff of writers worked together on this post. It was a combination of efforts from our passionate writers that produce content to educate and provide insights for all our readers.
