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How can registrars validate data?

The following table provides some examples of the ways registrars could validate name and/or address data. Depending on their business model registrars may use a combination of these.

Individual

name address
3rd party sources, e.g.
Electoral roll ✔*
Postal file (such as Royal Mail)
Companies House
Business Directory
Credit Checking Database
Internal sources, e.g.
Billing data
Personal knowledge of registrant
Documentation, e.g.
Valid passport
Valid drivers’ licence ✔*
Valid national ID cards (for non-UK) ✔*
Utility bill (last 3 months)
Bank statement (last 3 months)
HMRC tax notification (last 3 months)
Official letterhead
Company stamp or seal

*If address is included

Business

name address
3rd party sources, e.g.
Electoral roll
Postal file (such as Royal Mail)
Companies House
Business Directory
Credit Checking Database
Internal sources, e.g.
Billing data
Personal knowledge of registrant
Documentation, e.g.
Valid passport
Valid drivers’ licence
Valid national ID cards (for non-UK)
Utility bill (last 3 months)
Bank statement (last 3 months)
HMRC tax notification (last 3 months)
Official letterhead
Company stamp or seal ✔*

*If address is included

Registrars may also wish to build in processes to allow registrants to view and correct data, which can then be re-submitted for revalidation.

Validation sources that do not meet our requirements

For clarification, the following methods of validation are not considered an acceptable way of validating the registrant name and/or address, although this is not an exhaustive list.

Any form of validation undertaken by the registrant themselves, e.g.

  • Email verification, where the registrant confirms their contact details via email
  • Calling the registrant to obtain verbal confirmation of their contact details
  • A third party vouching for the registrant, unless they are professionally or legally able to certify as such

Accredited Channel Partners

For Accredited Channel Partners, where Nominet cannot validate the data provided by registrars through our third party sources, and have found the data to be likely to be inaccurate, the registrar must undertake further work to validate the data.

You must provide details of the processes you intend to use when applying for an Accredited Channel Partner tag and Nominet will use this information during Registrar Reviews.

If you wish to propose other methods please provide details in your application and these will be considered. Alternatively you can contact [email protected], or call us on +44 (0) 330 236 9475 to discuss this further.

During a Registrar Review, Nominet will look at a sample of data validated by the registrar. Below we have outlined the types of auditable evidence we might look for:

Validation against third party sources

We would expect an electronic or paper trail demonstrating what source a registrar has used to check the data and when. This could be a date-stamped flag in a database, a spreadsheet, or a manual log. During a Registrar Review Nominet might also audit the process by checking the data against the named source ourselves.

Validation against internal sources

For billing data, this could be an electronic or paper trail, date-stamped database flag or log that demonstrates what source the registrar has used to check the data and when.

For personal knowledge of the registrant, for example if they are a neighbour, we would expect a record saying this was the source of your validation.

Validation against documentation

We do not expect registrars to keep paper documents on file over and above their usual processes. We do expect to be able to audit an electronic trail or database flag, which would demonstrate that a document was submitted and checked, including details of what type of document and when.

In addition to the above checks, if issues with data quality are identified, we will work with you to develop an improvement plan. Nominet and the registrar may agree specific measures to allow us to be sure that the data quality validation process proposed by the registrar is being implemented.

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