If your web developer stopped answering tomorrow, could someone in your business find the domain account, check its renewal date and contact the registrar? Make that a practical check, not a question left until the next hosting invoice.
This review is about control of your business address online, not choosing a new website design or moving servers. Start with your main domain, then repeat it for any other names you actively use. Ask for evidence without changing live settings.
Find the registrant, not just the invoice
ICANN describes the registrant as the individual or entity registering a domain, with settings managed through the registrar.[1] Ask your supplier to show you the registration details and explain which organisation is recorded. Do not treat the name on a hosting invoice as your only evidence.
Record the registrar, the company you pay and the person responsible for renewals. These may be different contacts. If a supplier manages the account for you, ask how it records your business’s interest in the domain and how an authorised director could request help. Resolve unexplained names through the registrar’s proper process rather than trying to take over an account.
Prove authorised access without touching DNS
Arrange a short review with the person who normally manages the domain. Ask them to demonstrate authorised access, show the domain in the account and explain the recovery process. Do not share passwords by email or ask everyone in the office to use one login. Use separate authorised access where the provider supports it.
Ask what security options the account offers, including multi-factor authentication, and record who looks after recovery methods. Name a business owner and a deputy. Keep recovery information in your approved secure store, with access limited to those who need it. The test is whether the business has a documented route to help, not whether a password appears in a spreadsheet.
Check renewal rather than trusting the reminder
ICANN’s renewal guidance recommends tracking expiry, keeping contact information current and maintaining payment details when auto-renewal is enabled.[2] Check those items in the actual account. Ask your supplier to confirm who receives renewal notices and who acts if a payment fails. Put a separate review date in your own business calendar.
Renewal options and fees vary between registrars, according to ICANN.[2] Request the ordinary renewal price, the billing arrangement and any recovery charges before accepting an invoice. Check which domain the invoice covers. If an unexpected message demands urgent payment, use your existing trusted contact or account bookmark to investigate rather than following its payment link.
Do not borrow an expiry timetable from another domain ending. Nominet publishes its own .uk reminder process and directs registrants to their registrar about renewal.[3] Ask for the rules applicable to your particular domain. Plan to renew before expiry rather than treating a recovery window as spare time.
Separate registration from hosting responsibilities
Ask your suppliers to identify who handles domain registration, DNS, website hosting and email. Keep the answers together with support contacts. Request a current record of the configuration from the technical owner, but do not edit nameservers or delete records as part of an ownership review.
Use a simple rehearsal: your website supplier is unavailable and a renewal notice arrives. Who checks it, who approves payment and who can contact the registrar? Then try a second scenario in which the normal business contact has left. Write down any missing handover step. You can resolve a documentation gap without moving the domain or interrupting a working website.
Agree the exit process before changing provider
Before a supplier change, ask for a written domain handover plan. It should identify the authorised business contact, any approvals required, the destination account and the services that must remain untouched. Request advice on applicable transfer restrictions before agreeing a moving date. Avoid combining an urgent renewal, an ownership correction and a hosting move into one unexplained instruction.
Ask both suppliers to confirm their responsibilities and the checks they will perform afterwards. Retain the registration and billing evidence in your business records. Where a dispute exists, use the registrar’s documented support or dispute process. This checklist is a continuity review, not a way to bypass identity checks or decide legal ownership.
Leave with a record someone else can use
Your final record should name the domain, registrar, registrant, renewal date, billing owner, authorised contacts and recovery route. Add the date it was checked and the next review date. Keep sensitive recovery material separate. Revisit the record when a director, supplier or administrator changes.
If you are reviewing the wider setup, BMT’s managed hosting page provides context for a hosting discussion. Contact BMT with the domain and the responsibilities you need clarified, but do not send passwords or recovery codes. Ask for a scoped review before authorising any live changes.
Sources
[1] https://www.icann.org/registrants
[2] https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/domain-name-renewal-expiration-faqs-2018-12-07-en
[3] https://registrars.nominet.uk/uk-namespace/registration-and-domain-management/renewals/uk-renewal-reminder