Domain registrar
The company through which a domain name is registered and renewed, which passes your nameserver and DNSSEC settings to the registry.
What it means
Registrars sit between registrants and the registry that runs a top-level domain. For generic top-level domains they are accredited by ICANN and bound by its Registrar Accreditation Agreement; resellers may sell on their behalf.
Two settings at the registrar affect mail: the nameservers (NS records) that decide which DNS host is authoritative, and DS records for DNSSEC. Many registrars also offer DNS hosting, which is why the two roles get confused; if the nameservers point elsewhere, records edited at the registrar have no effect.
Registration data is available through WHOIS and its successor RDAP. An expired registration takes the domain's mail down with everything else.
Related terms
On this site
Sources
What this definition rests on. The wording is ours; the facts are theirs.
- ICANN: Registering a domain nameicann.org
- RFC 9499: DNS Terminology, section 9rfc-editor.org
All 432 terms in the glossaryThe wiki: blocklists and bounce codes