Help / Frequently Asked Questions

Transferring Domain Names

What do you mean by transferring a domain name? Transferring means changing the registrars. If you have domains that were registered with other registrars such as Network Solutions, you do not have to renew your domain with them. You can transfer the domain to us and renew at our low rates. Transfer needs to be done before the domain name expires. Please see the restrictions below. Transferring a domain name does not mean transfer of ownership or changing hosting company. What is required to do a transfer? What are the restrictions? In order to transfer a domain successfully certain criteria should be met: A domain that was registered or renewed less than 60 days ago cannot be transferred. Just wait 60 days and transfer afterwards. Domains that are on HOLD cannot be transferred. Registrars can place a domain on hold, such as domains that are in dispute between two parties. Until the ownership issue is solved and domain is taken out of hold it cannot be transferred. If the existing registrar has the domain name locked for either non-payment or at the user's request domain cannot be transferred. If you have purchased, but not paid for a domain name, existing registrar will not permit it to be transferred. Expired domains cannot be transferred. Original registrar has the right to refuse the transfer of an expired and unpaid domain. Just to be on the safe side, we require that you should allow a minimum of 4 days prior to expiration date to do the transfer. If you don't have access to existing Admin Contact e-mail of the domain, transfer cannot be done. The Admin Contact's approval via e-mail is required. If your domain's Admin Contact e-mail is not valid anymore, first you should update it with your existing registrar, and then apply for transfer. Do not attempt to do a transfer if your domain does not meet the requirements. That will result in a rejection and a charge of $5.00 processing fee (to cover our cost). Same fee will apply if transfer gets cancelled by Admin Contact either by rejecting or by not replying in 5 days. You do not pay any processing fee for successful transfers. If a domain transfer is rejected for a different reason, you will not be charged for any fees. How do I know my domain meets the requirements? Do a WHOIS search for the domain in question. It will show you the date it was registered (created), the date it will expire, whether it is on HOLD or not, and the Admin Contcat e-mail. (If the domain was renewed after its original creation date, you should calculate the last renewal date based on the creation date.) Are there any transfer fees? What is my cost? Unless you try to transfer a domain name that does not meet the above given requirements there are no additional costs. Only amount you will be charged is $12.95 plus GST one year registration fee. This registration will add one year to the existing expiration date of the domain no matter how early you do the transfer. What are the steps in transfer process? You submit a transfer request from our transfer page. A confirmation e-mail will be sent to the new Admin Contact e-mail. An e-mail for each domain will be sent from transfers@opensrs.org to the current Admin Contact e-mail address. Follow the instructions in this e-mail and submit a phone number to indicate your approval. Then the request will be sent to "loosing" registrar for their approval. This registrar has to approve or reject normally within 5 days. They usually don't wait that long. Your domain will be renewed for one year and the new expiration date will be one year from the last expiration date. The "loosing" registrar may or may not send a confirmation e-mail, indicating whether they approved or rejected the transfer (Network Solutions does send e-mails). If you don't receive an e-mail, using WHOIS you can check the new expiration date of the domain name. Does it affect the functioning of my web page? No, transfer process is seemless to your web page. Functionality of your web page will not be affected.

Managing the Domain Record

How do I edit my domain information? All you need to do is login to the Domain Manager. This is a web-based interface that allows for real-time domain updates. Can I change my domain name and registration period? No, once your registration is completed your domain name and registration period is sent to the root servers. After that, the domain name itself and the registration period cannot be changed. What is Domain Manager? It is an enhanced web tool that enables you to login and access to your registered domain information for maintenance, update, and editing purposes. Unlike Network Solutions, with our Domain Manager, incase of a change in any of the registration info, you don't have to update every single domain's data one by one. With one login, and one click, you will be able to update all your domains at once. You can divide your domains into groups as well, by using different profiles for each group. When you are registering a new domain, if you choose the "use existing profile" option this domain will be in the same group as the profile used. Domain Manager becomes available for use immediately after you receive the confirmation e-mail of your first domain registered with us. Does it cost anything to make changes to my domain? No, we charge nothing! It is all in your control, and you have an excellent tool, Domain Manager, to maintain, edit, and update your domain information. We will continue to enhance the features of this program. How long does it take for my information to be updated? After the first registration, as soon as you receive the confirmation via email your data will be in our database. Then if you need you can login to the Domain Manager to update your data. Once you modify your domain information it is instantly updated on our server. It may take up to 24 hours for root servers of InterNIC to reflect the updates. I want to forward my domain name to my existing web page! Using Domain Manager, change your name servers to the name servers of your existing web page's hosting company. Then, ask the hosting company to add your domain name to their name servers. How do I change my name servers? Login to Domain Manager program using your domain name, username, and password. Click on the "Name Servers" link at the top. In the next screen type the new name servers in place of existing primary and secondary name servers. You should type only the names, not the IP numbers. Make sure you do not have spaces at the beginning or end of the name. Click "Save Configuration" and system will automatically find the IP numbers and update your record. I have accidentally deleted my name servers. How do I add them back? In the same page, use the Server Hostname field to add the name servers again. First type your primary name server and click the button, then type the secondary name server and click the button. How can my hosting company update my domain information? You will need to set-up your hosting company as a sub-user in the Domain Manager. You will be able to assign them a password and specify which information they are allowed to modify. I have forgotten my password (and/or username), how can I get it? Email admin@selectmydomain.com with your request including your domain name or order ID. Your username and password will be sent to the admin contact e-mail address. We cannot see your username and password. We can only make the system forward it to do admin contact. Username and password cannot be forwarded to a different e-mail addres. That is an important reason to have a valid admin contact e-mail address entered during the registration. How do I transfer ownership of my domain? You can login to Domain Manager and change all contact information to the new owner. Then provide the new owner with the username and password, and tell them to change it. Please be advised, you cannot do that if you are keeping multiple domains under one profile. First you should separate that particular domain's profile using "Manage profile" and then "Change Profile of Domain" options under Domain Manager (for details please refer to the section below). It is also advised that in selling domain names you protect yourself with written documentation to avoid possible legal disputes. (Please also read Domain Name Registration Agreement and Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy.) My domains are not under one profile. How can I put them together? Login to Domain Manager with this domain name and click on "Manage Profile" and then "Change Profile of Domain". In the next screen type the username and password of the profile to which you are trying to move this domain. Mark the "Move to existing profile" box and type one of the domain names of the profile to which you are trying to move this domain. Click "Change Profile". All my domains are under one profile. How can I put a domain under a separate profile? Login to Domain Manager with this domain name and click on "Manage Profile" and then "Change Profile of Domain". In the next screen type a new username and password for the new profile you are creating. Click "Change Profile". Can you make the necessary changes for me? For security purposes our support personnel does not have access to your username and passwords, therefore cannot do the changes for you. Domain Manager program is designed to help you with all your update needs. If you have any questions, our support personnel can always assist you.

General Information

What is a domain name? The unique name that identifies an Internet site. Domain names always have 2 or more parts, separated by dots, like "example.com", "example.net", "example.org". What is the difference between .ca, .biz, .com, .info, .net, and .org top level domain? The top level domain basically differentiate between the various types of organisations on the Internet. Generally, the following rules apply: .ca -- Canadian organisations .biz -- businesses .com -- businesses and commercial enterprises .info -- informational .net -- network-related organisations and enterprises .org -- charitable or non-profit organisations But it is not an absolute rule. Anybody can register any of these names. The domain suffix type itself has no bearing on accessibility on the Internet from a technical standpoint, but over time the .com domain type has become the most popular and recognizable on the Internet. What is the maximum length and other restrictions of a domain name? A valid domain name can have min. 2 max. 63 characters (excluding the extension). You can use any combination of 26 letters in English alphabet, numbers from 0 to 9 and "-" (dash) character. No profanity or use of any name protected by trademark. Once I have a domain name secured, how long may I use it? If there are no trademark disputes, your secured domain name will be yours for as long as you maintain the yearly registration fees. What if my desired name is the same as a trademarked name? Generally, if you've registered the name in good faith, it's not a name belonging to an internationally known company, and you can show that you have a legitimate reason to use that name then you are likely to be able to keep that name. That may not be the case if it can be shown that you purchased the name for the express purpose of re-selling it to a company with a legitimate claim to the name. Please see the Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy for details. Why should people register domain name(s)? Just like a company logo, brand name, your domain name too represents your business identity. Domain names are designed for people, IP addresses are designed for computers. If you want people to find your web site easily, you will need a domain name. What is WHOIS? WHOIS is a tool to retrieve the registration information of a domain name, including the registrant's name, contact information, and record creation date. You can perform a WHOIS by clicking on this WHOIS link. What are Name Servers? A name server is a computer that holds records of domain names.

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