Initial Report on the Transfer Policy Review

What We Need Your Input On

The Initial Report on the Transfer Policy Review Policy Development Process (PDP) documents the Working Group’s efforts and preliminary recommendations for how to evolve and improve ICANN’s Transfer Policy. The PDP Working Group requests your input on this Initial Report, which covers a wide range of generic top-level domain (gTLD) transfer-related topics and proposes a variety of changes to the current Transfer Policy.

This Initial Report is structured differently from most reports. Its main body contains the PDP Working Group’s preliminary policy recommendations, impact analyses (a new feature indicating the degree to which a recommendation differs from the current Transfer Policy), recommendation rationales, and where applicable, implementation guidance. The Working Group’s Charter questions and summary deliberations are provided in the Annexes, which are linked within the report for ease of use. The order and grouping of recommendations are explained at the beginning of the Initial Report.

Your input will be reviewed in preparation of the PDP Working Group’s Final Report, which the GNSO Council will consider to determine next steps. Two informational webinars about the Initial Report will be held before the Public Comment submission period ends.

• Webinar 1: 4 September 2024 (13:00 UTC)
• Webinar 2: 9 September 2024 (13:00 UTC)

Background

The Transfer Policy, formerly referred to as the Inter‐Registrar Transfer Policy (IRTP), is an ICANN consensus policy that went into effect on 12 November 2004. The policy governs the procedure and requirements for registrants to transfer their domain names from one registrar to another, also referred to as an inter-registrar transfer. The goal of the Transfer Policy was to provide for enhanced domain name portability, resulting in greater consumer and business choice and enabling registrants to select the registrar that offers the best services and price for their needs.

In 2005, the GNSO formed the Transfers Working Group to examine the current policy and recommend further policy work. Over the subsequent decade, five policy development processes were conducted to address different issues and uncertainties within the IRTP. Pursuant to Recommendation 17 of the IRTP Part D PDP Final Report, a Transfer Policy Status Report was delivered to the GNSO Council in April 2019. This Transfer Policy Status Report provided a foundation to review the history and underlying goals of the Transfer Policy and the five PDPs. In 2020, a Transfer Policy Review Scoping Team delivered its Transfer Policy Review Scoping Paper, eventually leading to a Final Issues Report to the GNSO Council. The Issues Report proposed a multi-phased PDP to address eight topics of concern within the Transfer Policy.

In February 2021, the GNSO Council initiated a phased PDP to review the Transfer Policy; however, the Working Group ultimately consolidated the work into one phase due to dependencies between the topics. The PDP was tasked with addressing the following topics:

• Group 1(a): Form of Authorization (FOA) (including EPDP Phase 1, Recommendation 27, Wave 1 FOA issues), AuthInfo Codes, and Denying (NACKing) transfers.
• Group 1(b): Change of Registrant (including EPDP Phase 1, Recommendation 27, Wave 1 Change of Registrant issues).
• Group 2: Transfer Emergency Action Contact and reversing inter-registrar transfers, Transfer Dispute Resolution Policy (including EPDP Phase 1, Recommendation 27, Wave 1 TDRP issues), ICANN-approved transfers.

In June 2022, the PDP Working Group published its Group 1(a) Initial Report for Public Comment. Considering the comments received, the Working Group amended its Group 1(a) recommendations, then continued its deliberations of topics in Group 1(b) and Group 2.

Having completed its topic deliberations in all three groups, the PDP Working Group has consolidated its policy recommendations and rationale into one centralized Initial Report document for Public Comment.

Next Steps

After the end of the submission period for this Public Comment proceeding, the inputs will be analyzed by the Transfer Policy Review PDP Working Group, who will consider whether there is a need to update their recommendations in light of the comments received. The Working Group will continue deliberations as necessary to prepare their final recommendations and Final Report for the GNSO Council.

Supporting Information

This additional information from ICANN org provides more context for this Public Comment Proceeding and may help you review the proposals for input and publish a submission.