Domain Registration and Transfer procedure

Aim of this article

The object of this article is to provide information about the domain registration and transfer procedures.

Registering a new domain

When a new domain name is registered with Zen the following procedure is followed:

1. The Online Ordering process checks to see if the requested domain name is available.^{1, 2}
2. If the domain name is available the registrant can complete the order form, filling in the options they require for Web site hosting.
3. We then register the domain on the customer's behalf and set up the relevant records on our name servers for e-mail and Web hosting, as per the customer's instructions. As part of the registration process information about the registrant is placed in the publicly accessible WHOIS database.³
   See the note at the end of the page for more information, and the Related Article for more details about the WHOIS database.

Transferring a .uk Domain name to Zen

Transferring a .uk domain is a relatively easy procedure, which is outlined below.

1. Domain transfer is ordered online via Zen's Web site, choosing the e-mail and Web site hosting options required.
2. Customer then need to obtain contact the old domain host and ask them to update the IPSTAG to ZENSYS then notify Zen by emailing dnsmaster@zen.co.uk advising that this has been done. 
3. Once this step is completed we can then take ownership of the Domain name, and will set up the DNS entries as per the customer's instructions.

Transferring a .com, .org, .net, .info or .biz domain name to Zen

The procedure for transferring a .com, .org, .net, .info or .biz domain name to Zen is slightly different. This is outlined below:

1. Domain transfer is ordered online via Zen's Web site, choosing the e-mail and Web site hosting options required.
2. You will then need to contact your current domain registrar to make sure the domain status is unlocked and to obtain a transfer/auth key, which you should supply to Zen by emailing dnsmaster@zen.co.uk with the following information:
   • Domain name/Order number
   • Transfer/auth key
   • Contact details
3. We then request transfer of the domain via our registrar. An e-mail will be sent to the admin contact listed on the WHOIS database by our registrar to authorise the transfer before it can proceed (a further e-mail will be sent from the holding registrar if this is different).  If the old host is listed as the current admin contact then the customer needs to contact them to ensure they will accept the request. ^{4, 5}
4. Once the admin contact authorises the transfer request, the domain will be transferred to Zen's control. The Web server and e-mail settings are configured as per the customer's instructions.

Notes / Exceptions

Some domain names have restrictions in place on who can register them.
There are no restrictions for .co.uk, .org.uk, .com, .net, or .org domain names.
For other domain types please note the following:

¹ .ltd.uk and .plc.uk domain names have very strict rules about who can register them. For a .ltd.uk domain name this must exactly match the company name
Example: Joe Bloggs Ltd could register joebloggs.ltd.uk but not jbloggs.ltd.uk
We need the company number for a new domain of this type, so it may be checked by Nominet. Other than this the procedure is the same.

² .gov.uk domain names are very strictly controlled, and must take the form xxxx.gov.uk, although UKERNA (the registering body) may also require it to include a county name, such as bradfordmcc.westyorkshire.gov.uk The following information is required from the customer in order to register the domain:

1. The status of the organisation (e.g. Parish Council, executive agency, central government etc).
2. The role and objective of the organisation.
3. The status of the staff (e.g. civil servants, local government officials, etc.).
4. The source of funding (e.g. central taxation, CMF, council tax, etc.).
5. To whom the agency is accountable to (e.g. Secretary of State).
6. Where possible include the intended purpose of the Web site (e.g. information, educational, transactional, a campaign etc).

³ For every domain registration it is required to input details about the registrant into the publicly accessible WHOIS database. Normally this will be the customer's name and address, but an individual can choose to omit the address portion, and a company can choose to put the company name in the database in place of an individual's name.

⁴ Certain providers, most notably Joker (or uk2.net) do not follow the standard procedure for transferring domain names. To transfer a domain from these providers it is necessary to contact them first and ask them to open a "transfer window".  Once done, the customer can order the domain transfer as normal.

⁵ Some providers, for example the Domain Registry of America, will charge to release a domain name. In this case the customer needs to contact them and pay the necessary fee. After this the transfer procedure is the same.