Special Terms · Domain Names

Registration · Renewal · Transfer · DNS management · Identity protection

1. Role of DINAO

1.1 Role of DINAO and registrar of each name

DINAO offers the registration, renewal and transfer of domain names. It is never the registry that administers an extension, nor the authority that sets its rules. When a name is registered, DINAO chooses its registrar: itself (Article 1.2) or a partner registrar (Article 1.3). This registrar appears in the public registration data of the name (Whois). An existing name changes registrar only through a transfer, which requires the Customer's agreement (Articles 1.4, 8.2 and 8.3). Whatever its registrar, DINAO manages the life cycle of the name for the Customer under the conditions of this contract.

1.2 Names managed by DINAO with AFNIC: DINAO as registrar

DINAO is an accredited registrar of the Association française pour le nommage Internet en coopération (AFNIC), the registry of .fr and other extensions, from the effective date of its accreditation, of which it informs its Customers. This article covers names in an extension managed by AFNIC that DINAO itself registers with the registry from that date, as well as those whose management DINAO takes over with the registry following a transfer. For these names, DINAO contracts directly with AFNIC, carries out the operations with the registry itself and applies the AFNIC naming charter, which is binding on DINAO as well as on the Customer. If DINAO ceases to be an accredited registrar, it notifies the Customer, provides it with all the information necessary for the transfer of its names and, with its agreement, transfers them to a partner registrar (Article 1.3) no later than the date of cessation.

1.3 Names managed by a partner registrar: DINAO as reseller

For any other name, DINAO acts through a partner registrar, which transmits the operations to the registry. This article covers in particular, whatever their extension, names registered through a partner registrar before the date mentioned in Article 1.2, including names in .fr: they remain managed by that partner, for their renewal as for any other operation. The partner registrars appear in the list of processors published by DINAO; DINAO may change partner registrar for a given extension, for names registered after that change; an existing name remains managed by its registrar, unless a transfer is accepted by the Customer (Article 1.1). The Customer loses neither its name nor its status as registrant.

1.4 Change of regime

The regime of a name does not change merely because it is renewed. It changes only with the Customer's express agreement, under the conditions of Article 8.3, or following a transfer requested by the Customer, under the conditions of Article 8.2.

1.5 Term

The domain name is registered for a fixed term and is never acquired permanently: the Customer has the use of it for as long as the registration is maintained.

2. Registrant and accuracy of information

2.1 Registrant

The registrant of the domain name is the person declared as such at the time of registration: the Customer itself, or a third party for whom the Customer orders the name, for example in the context of a resale. In that case, the Customer declares that it is acting with the registrant's agreement and is answerable to DINAO for the information it provides on the registrant's behalf. DINAO acts with the registry or the partner registrar on behalf of the registrant.

2.2 Verifications

Certain extensions require verification of the registrant's email address, or supporting documents, within a time limit set by the registry. Failing verification, the registry may suspend the domain name. For a name covered by Article 1.3, the partner registrar sends these requests directly to the registrant, at the email address declared for the domain name; for a name covered by Article 1.2, DINAO sends them itself to the registrant, at that same address. In both cases, it is for the Customer to respond within the time limit indicated; DINAO assists it on request.

2.3 Extensions managed by AFNIC

For a name in an extension managed by AFNIC, whatever its regime, the registrant meets the eligibility conditions set by the AFNIC naming charter, in its version in force on the date of each operation, which the Customer declares that it has read and accepted; it is available on the AFNIC website. For a name covered by Article 1.2, DINAO informs the Customer of changes to this charter. The registry may verify the registrant's eligibility and the accuracy of its contact details, request supporting documents from it and, failing a response within the time limits set by the charter, block and then delete the name. For a name covered by Article 1.2, DINAO receives these requests from the registry, sends them to the registrant and reminds it of the deadline; for a name covered by Article 1.3, the partner registrar sends them directly to the registrant, and DINAO assists it on request.

2.4 Registrant data transmitted to the registry

In order to register and maintain a name, DINAO transmits the registrant's contact details to the registry of the extension and, for a name covered by Article 1.3, to the partner registrar. The registry keeps them in its directory, which it maintains as controller under its own rules; publication of these data in the directory depends on the charter of the extension and on the status of the registrant. For a name in an extension managed by AFNIC whose registrant is a natural person, the registrant's personal data are not published: this restricted disclosure applies by default and free of charge. DINAO's privacy policy sets out these transmissions.

2.5 Accuracy of information and supporting documents

When ordering a domain name, the Customer provides the information that identifies the registrant: identity, postal address, email address, telephone number and, if the extension so requires, the elements proving that the registrant meets the conditions set by the extension. This information is specific to the domain name: it may differ from that of the customer account, and updating the customer account does not modify it. The Customer warrants that it is accurate and complete, and updates it without delay throughout the term of the registration, for each domain name concerned, as required by the rules of the registries (for extensions managed by AFNIC, Article 5.1 of its naming charter). For a name covered by Article 1.2, the Customer updates it from its customer area, free of charge, and DINAO invites it at least once a year to check it.

The registry of the extension, or the registrar, may check this information and request supporting documents of identity or eligibility from the Customer. These supporting documents must correspond to the information declared. Where a third party notifies DINAO that this information is inaccurate, DINAO asks the Customer to correct it or to substantiate it and, if the Customer does not respond, informs the registry. These requests arrive by email: the Customer must therefore provide an email address that exists and that it checks.

If the information provided is inaccurate or incomplete, if it does not make it possible to reach the Customer, or if the supporting documents do not correspond to it:

• the operation already carried out (registration, renewal or transfer) remains payable and is not refunded: DINAO has already paid its price to the registry;
• the Customer bears the consequences, in particular the blocking, suspension or deletion of the domain name by the registry, and the fees for restoration or for a new registration (Article 6.3).

If DINAO finds that the Customer's email address does not work, it endeavours to notify the Customer by other means, without being able to guarantee it.

3. Rules of the extensions and availability

Each extension is subject to the charter of its registry (eligibility conditions, minimum and maximum terms, grace and redemption periods, transfer rules). These rules are binding on DINAO as well as on the Customer and may change; for a name covered by Article 1.2, DINAO applies them in its capacity as registrar. The term offered when ordering is the one displayed at the time of the order.

The availability of a name is certain only once the registration has been confirmed by the registry. DINAO may cease to offer an extension; it informs the Customers concerned and leaves them the option of transferring their names (Article 8). The Customer chooses its name under its sole responsibility: it is for the Customer to ensure that the name does not infringe the rights of a third party and, for an extension managed by AFNIC, that it complies with the rules laid down by the French Postal and Electronic Communications Code (Code des postes et des communications électroniques) for the choice of a domain name (Article L45-2).

4. Order and registration

Registration is carried out after receipt of payment: DINAO transmits the request to the registry (Article 1.2) or to the partner registrar (Article 1.3). It takes effect upon confirmation by the registry; DINAO informs the Customer by email.

If the registration cannot be completed (name already registered by a third party, refusal by the registry, conditions of the extension not met), DINAO informs the Customer by email within five working days following the refusal, and credits the sum paid for that name to its customer account (Article 6.5 of the General Terms). This credit is available immediately, without delay or bank charges: it may be used to register another name, or to pay any other order or invoice of the Customer. A Customer who prefers to be refunded requests it: the refund is then made within fourteen days of its request (for the consumer, Article L216-7 of the French Consumer Code (Code de la consommation)), and the corresponding credit is removed from its account. No sum is refunded automatically.

5. Term and renewal

5.1 Automatic renewal

Renewal is automatic by default. The Customer may disable it, for each name, from its customer area, at any time until payment of the renewal invoice, and at the latest on the day before the expiry of the name, or refuse renewal by means of the link provided for that purpose in the emails relating to that invoice, by way of derogation from the time limit of Article 6.7 of the General Terms. Disabling cancels the unpaid renewal invoice for that name, or removes the line for the name where the invoice groups several; the name is then not renewed at its expiry date and follows the end of life described in Article 6.

5.2 Renewal invoice

A renewal invoice is issued automatically before the expiry date of the name, for the following period: 29 days before the expiry date as at the date of these Special Terms. It is paid in accordance with Article 6 of the General Terms. If the Customer's account shows a credit, that credit is automatically applied to the invoice as soon as it is issued (Article 6.5 of the General Terms); where it covers the invoice, it pays it: renewal is then committed (Article 5.2 bis) and is not refundable (Article 9.5). A Customer who does not wish to renew a name while its account shows a credit must therefore disable renewal before the invoice is issued.

5.2 bis Payment: renewal is committed

Payment of the invoice triggers renewal: DINAO carries it out with the registry (Article 1.2) or transmits it to the partner registrar (Article 1.3) without waiting for the expiry date, and immediately incurs the registry's fees. Once renewal has been carried out with that payment, it can no longer be cancelled or refunded, including if the Customer subsequently disables automatic renewal. If renewal could not be carried out, Article 5.4 applies.

5.3 Information notices

In accordance with Article 6.6 of the General Terms, DINAO sends at least three reminders by email before the expiry date of the name: renewal notice, renewal invoice and its reminders. This commitment is fulfilled by sending to the email address of the account; it is the Customer's responsibility to keep it up to date.

5.4 DINAO's commitment

Where a renewal invoice has been paid, DINAO carries out the corresponding renewal with the registry (Article 1.2) or transmits it to the partner registrar (Article 1.3), and the Customer receives a confirmation email. If, despite payment, the renewal is not carried out, the failure is attributable to DINAO whatever the regime of the name, including where the operation goes through a partner registrar, and Article 6.3 applies.

6. End of life of the domain name

6.1 The stages

A name that is not renewed at its expiry date goes, depending on the extension, through a grace period, during which it can be renewed, sometimes subject to late renewal fees, then through a redemption period, during which it can still be restored, subject to restoration fees (Article 6.3), and is then released and may be registered by any person. The duration of each period depends on the extension and does not depend on DINAO. Late renewal fees and restoration fees are invoiced at DINAO's rate for the extension (Article 6.3); DINAO indicates their amount to the Customer before any operation.

6.2 Renewing or restoring after the expiry date

During the grace period, the Customer renews its name by paying the renewal invoice.

During the redemption period, DINAO issues an invoice that includes the renewal of the period and the restoration fees (Article 6.3). It replaces the renewal invoice that remained unpaid, which is cancelled. Payment of this invoice constitutes a request for restoration: DINAO immediately carries out the restoration with the registry (Article 1.2) or transmits it to the partner registrar (Article 1.3), and the name is renewed for the period paid.

Without payment before the end of the redemption period, the name is released (Article 6.1).

6.3 Restoration fees

Restoration of a name that has entered the redemption period is chargeable, at DINAO's restoration rate for the extension concerned, published on its domain name pricing page and reminded to the Customer before any operation. This rate covers the fees that the registry charges for the restoration and DINAO's handling of the operation. Liability for these fees depends on the cause:

• The failure is attributable to the Customer (renewal invoice not paid, renewal disabled, inaccurate information provided, registrant unreachable, non-compliant supporting documents or registrant not verified, Article 2.5): the fees are borne by the Customer. DINAO restores the name only at the Customer's request or with its prior agreement.
• The failure is attributable to DINAO, in particular where a paid renewal has not been carried out: DINAO restores the name at its own expense, reinstates the period paid by the Customer and invoices nothing to the Customer in that respect. As soon as the Customer has paid for its renewal, DINAO is answerable for its proper performance, whether it carries it out itself with the registry (Article 1.2) or goes through a partner registrar (Article 1.3): the failure of that partner is attributable to DINAO.
• In other cases (decision of the registry, force majeure), DINAO informs the Customer, seeks a solution with it, and incurs no fees chargeable to the Customer without its agreement.

6.4 Consequences

From the expiry date, the name may stop responding. The services that depend on it (website, email, applications) may then become inaccessible. Once the name has been released, DINAO can guarantee neither its recovery nor its availability.

7. Associated services

7.1 Options

DNS management, identity protection (masking of the registrant's information where the extension allows it), email forwarding and the other options offered for a domain name are separate options, free of charge or chargeable as indicated by the ordering process at the time of their subscription or renewal. They follow the fate of the domain name: they end with it. For a name in an extension managed by AFNIC, whatever its regime, publication of the registrant's data follows the rules of the AFNIC naming charter (Article 2.4).

7.2 Hosting and email linked to the name

The expiry or suspension of a domain name renders the services that depend on it inaccessible; it does not entail the suspension of the corresponding hosting or email contract, whose price remains payable according to its own due date. Non-payment for one service does not release the Customer from its other services: each remains payable according to its own terms. The Customer may, from its customer area, terminate these contracts under the conditions of Article 7 of the General Terms. This article does not apply where the expiry or suspension of the name is attributable to DINAO: Article 6.3 and Articles 3 (subject to Article 11) and 20 of the General Terms then apply.

8. Transfer

8.1 Outgoing transfer

The Customer may transfer its name to another registrar. The procedure is carried out from its customer area, in this order:

1. Remove the transfer lock. Most names carry a transfer lock (status clientTransferProhibited), enabled by default for their security. Removal of the lock is transmitted to the registry or to the partner registrar and may take up to thirty (30) minutes.
2. Obtain the authorisation code, free of charge. Where the name carries a transfer lock, the code can be obtained only once the lock has been removed.
3. Send the code to the registrar receiving the name; that registrar initiates the transfer.

A paid renewal remains acquired; an unpaid renewal invoice is cancelled when the Customer disables renewal, at the latest on the day before the expiry of the name (Article 5.1). The associated options (Article 7.1) are not transferred.

Transfer close to expiry. A transfer generally takes five to seven days for a name in a generic extension, and longer for certain extensions. If the name expires during the transfer, the operation fails, the name may be suspended and the services that depend on it (website, email) become inaccessible. DINAO advises against any transfer less than forty-five (45) days before the expiry of the name. When the Customer requests the authorisation code for such a name, its customer area reminds it of this risk and offers to renew the name with DINAO first; the Customer obtains the code after confirming that it has taken note of this. Save for fault on the part of DINAO, the consequences of a transfer initiated within this period remain borne by the Customer.

Transfer prohibited by the registry. For a name in a generic extension (.com, .net…), ICANN rules prohibit the transfer of a name registered or already transferred within the last sixty (60) days. Other time limits may apply depending on the extension, in particular after a change to the registrant's contact details.

End of DNS management. The outgoing transfer ends DINAO's DNS management of the name: the zone of the name (its records: website, email, verifications) is no longer served by DINAO's DNS servers and is not transferred. It is the Customer's responsibility to prepare the DNS zone with its new provider before initiating the transfer, and then to point the domain's name servers to it; failing this, the website, email and other services that depend on the name stop responding.

8.2 Incoming transfer

DINAO may refuse the transfer of a name where the extension is not supported or the conditions of the registry are not met. The incoming transfer is invoiced at the rate displayed when ordering and may be accompanied by an extension of the registration period set by the extension. A name in an extension managed by AFNIC transferred to DINAO is managed, at DINAO's choice, by DINAO itself with the registry (Article 1.2) or by a partner registrar (Article 1.3).

8.3 Existing names: move to the regime of Article 1.2

Names managed by a partner registrar on the date mentioned in Article 1.2 remain so: DINAO does not transfer them to itself on its own initiative. It may offer the Customer to move a name in an extension managed by AFNIC to the regime of Article 1.2; it then informs the Customer, before any operation, of any fees and of the effect on the expiry date, and proceeds only with its express agreement. The Customer remains the registrant and keeps its name.

9. Right of withdrawal (consumer)

9.1 Principle

The consumer Customer has the right of withdrawal provided for in Article L221-18 of the French Consumer Code (Code de la consommation), under the conditions of Article 12 of the General Terms, subject to Articles 9.2 and 9.3.

9.2 Registration and transfer: immediate performance and waiver

The registration and transfer of a domain name are performed as soon as they are confirmed by the registry, generally within minutes of the order. Before validating its order, the consumer Customer expressly requests immediate performance of the registration or transfer of the name and acknowledges that it will lose its right of withdrawal once the operation has been fully performed (Article L221-28, 1°). This request and this acknowledgement are collected by means of a separate checkbox, presented before the order is validated. Failing this, the right of withdrawal remains.

9.3 Renewal

Renewal extends the contract concluded when the name was ordered: it does not give rise to a new right of withdrawal, including restoration (Article 6.2). The Customer retains control over each renewal: it is carried out only upon payment of its invoice (Article 5.2 bis), the price of which is indicated to the Customer in advance (Article 5.2), and the Customer may refuse it at any time before that payment, from its customer area or by means of the link provided in the emails relating to the invoice (Article 5.1). A Customer who does not wish to renew refuses the renewal or does not pay the invoice.

9.4 Before full performance

As long as the registry has not confirmed the operation, the Customer may still withdraw; it then pays an amount proportionate to what has been provided up to its decision, under the conditions of Article L221-25 of the French Consumer Code.

9.5 Refund

Once the registry has confirmed it, an operation — registration, renewal, transfer or restoration — is not refundable. The consumer Customer accepts this when ordering: by means of the checkbox in Article 9.2, it requests immediate performance of the operation and acknowledges that it loses its right of withdrawal once the registry has confirmed it. What it subsequently does with the name makes no difference: whether it does not use it, lets it expire or transfers it to another registrar before the end of the paid period.

The only cases giving rise to repayment of the sums paid are: a registration that cannot be completed (Article 4, credited to the Customer's account) and withdrawal exercised before confirmation by the registry (Article 9.4). This article does not limit DINAO's liability where a failure is attributable to it (Article 11).

10. Use of the name, suspension and withdrawal

The Customer shall refrain from any use of the name contrary to the law (phishing, counterfeiting, dissemination of unlawful content). DINAO may suspend or withdraw a name, without notice and without compensation, upon an order from an authority, upon a decision of the registry or in the event of manifest abuse, under the conditions of Article 7 of the General Terms; for a name covered by Article 1.2, it also carries out the decisions that the AFNIC naming charter entrusts to the registrar. DINAO informs the Customer beforehand where the situation permits; an order or decision requiring immediate execution applies without delay. Where it acts on its own initiative, in the event of manifest abuse, it informs the Customer of the reason. Disputes relating to the name itself are between the Customer and the party contesting its right; they fall under the dispute resolution procedures of the registry — for AFNIC extensions, those provided for in its naming charter — or under the competent courts. DINAO provides its technical assistance and carries out the decisions rendered.

11. Liability

DINAO is answerable for the performance of paid operations, whether it carries them out itself with the registry (Article 1.2) or transmits them to the partner registrar (Article 1.3). By way of derogation from Article 3 of the General Terms, the failure of the partner registrar to carry out a paid renewal is attributable to DINAO, which retains its right of recourse against that partner. Article 20 of the General Terms applies for the remainder. DINAO is not liable for the decisions of the registries, nor for their availability, nor for the allocation of a name to a third party after its release.

12. Backups

No backup option is attached to a domain name. Where DINAO manages the DNS zone of the name (Article 7.1), the Customer keeps a copy of its records; it may obtain an export of them by a request sent to support.