Domain registration agreement

About this agreement

This Domain Registration Agreement ("Agreement") applies to every domain name you register, renew, transfer in or manage through [Registered company name], which operates the VirtualCloud brand ("VirtualCloud", "we", "us" or "our"). It adds to our Terms of Service, which also apply.

VirtualCloud is a reseller. Domains are registered through our accredited registrar partner, [Accredited registrar name]: generic domains under its ICANN accreditation, and .in domains through a registrar accredited by NIXI. The registrar is the "sponsoring registrar" shown in the domain's public registration data, and its registration agreement also applies to you.

If these documents conflict, they apply in this order: the policies of ICANN, NIXI and the relevant registry; the registrar's registration agreement; this Agreement; and our Terms of Service.

Definitions

Registrant

The person or organisation shown as the domain's owner in the registration data. That's you, or whoever you name when you register.

Registry

The organisation that runs an extension, such as Verisign for .com and .net, or the .IN Registry operated by NIXI for .in.

Registrar

A company accredited by ICANN (for gTLDs) or NIXI (for .in) to register names with the registry.

gTLD

A generic top-level domain, such as .com, .net, .org, .online or .store. Country-code domains (ccTLDs) such as .in, .io, .ai, .co and .me have their own rules.

EPP code

The authorisation code, also called an auth code or transfer key, needed to move a domain to another registrar.

Registration data

The contact details held for a domain, published in part through RDAP, the successor to WHOIS.

Expiry date

The last day of the period you've paid for. You can see it in your client area.

Choosing and registering a name

• First come, first served. A domain is registered only when the registry confirms it. Until then it isn't reserved for you, even after payment. If the registry rejects it, we refund you in full.
• Who can register. Anyone aged 18 or over can register a domain in .com, .in and most other extensions we sell. Restricted .in names such as .gov.in, .ac.in and .edu.in aren't offered.
• Extension rules. Some extensions have their own conditions: .ai has a 2-year minimum term, and .dev and .app only work over HTTPS because browsers require it for them. Where an extension has extra rules, they're shown before you pay.
• Your right to the name. You confirm that, to the best of your knowledge, the name doesn't infringe anyone's trademark or other rights, and that you aren't registering it for an unlawful purpose.
• Premium and reserved names. Registries set their own prices for premium names and may keep some names reserved. The price at checkout is the price you pay.

Current prices for all 29 extensions are on the domain pricing page. A selection, per year, excluding 18% GST:

A first-year .com, .in or .co.in domain is free with any web or WordPress hosting plan bought on a 12, 24 or 36-month term. It renews at the normal renewal price, and if the hosting plan is refunded, the domain's first-year price is deducted from the refund.

Your obligations as registrant

• Accurate details. Give accurate and complete registrant, administrative and technical contact details, and update them within 7 days of any change. ICANN and NIXI rules require this.
• Email verification. For gTLDs, ICANN requires us to verify the registrant's email address within 15 days of a new registration or a change of registrant details. If it isn't verified in time, the domain is suspended until it is.
• Answering accuracy checks. If we or the registrar ask you to confirm your details, reply within 15 days. Deliberately giving false details, or not replying, is a reason to suspend or cancel the domain.
• Lawful use. Use the domain lawfully and in line with our Acceptable Use Policy. You're responsible for the domain's use, including by anyone you let use it.
• Make sure it's yours. If a developer or agency registers a domain for you, check that you're named as the registrant. We act on the registration data and on the account that holds the domain.
• Security. Keep your client area login safe and turn on two-factor sign-in. Keep the domain locked unless you're transferring it.

ICANN publishes a summary of your rights and duties as a registrant: the Registrants' Benefits and Responsibilities.

Renewal and reminders

• Automatic renewal. Domains renew automatically for one year before the expiry date, at the renewal price shown at checkout and on the pricing page. You can turn off auto-renewal in your client area.
• Reminders. We email the registrant and account holder about one month and one week before expiry, and again within five days after expiry, as ICANN's Expired Registration Recovery Policy requires for gTLDs. We send the same reminders for every other extension.
• Longer terms. You can renew for several years at once, up to the registry's maximum, which is usually 10 years in total.
• Price changes. Registries sometimes raise their prices. If the renewal price of a domain you hold goes up, we'll tell you at least 30 days before your renewal date.
• Payment comes first. A domain isn't renewed until payment is received. Reminders don't renew a domain on their own.

Expiry, grace, redemption and deletion

If a domain isn't renewed by its expiry date, it goes through the stages below. Shortly after expiry, it stops pointing at your website and email and shows a page saying that it has expired. During every stage before deletion, only you can renew or restore it.

Transfers

Moving a domain to us

• The domain must be unlocked at your current registrar, and you'll need its EPP code.
• Registry and ICANN rules stop a domain being transferred within 60 days of its registration or of a previous transfer. Domains in redemption, or subject to a dispute or court order, can't be transferred either.
• For most extensions, a transfer adds one year to the domain's term, and the transfer price includes that year. Your remaining time isn't lost. See transfer a domain for prices and steps.

Moving a domain away

• You can get the EPP code from your client area at any time, or by opening a ticket, in which case we send it within 5 days, as ICANN requires. Our guide explains the steps: get your EPP code and transfer a domain away.
• We don't charge to transfer a domain away and won't refuse a transfer, except where the rules allow it: evidence of fraud, a UDRP, INDRP or court proceeding, the 60-day lock, an unpaid registration period, or your own written objection.
• Hosting, email and other services linked to the domain aren't transferred with it. Cancel them or point the domain back to them after the move.

Changing the registrant

A change of registrant, meaning a new owner or a material change to the owner's name, organisation or email, has to be confirmed by both the current and the new registrant. Depending on the registry policy in force at the time, a 60-day transfer lock may then apply.

Privacy service and registration data

Registries and registrars must collect your contact details and keep them accurate. Some of this data is published through RDAP. For gTLDs, ICANN's Registration Data Policy already limits the personal data that is shown publicly.

Our privacy service goes further. On eligible gTLDs it's free and replaces your name, address, phone number and email in the public data with the service's details, and forwards genuine email to you. It isn't available on the .in family or on other extensions whose registry doesn't allow it; checkout shows which domains are eligible.

• You remain the registrant, with all the obligations in this Agreement.
• We may disclose your details, or turn the service off, if the law, a court or government authority requires it; for a UDRP, INDRP or similar proceeding; when we receive credible evidence that the domain is used for abuse such as phishing, malware or trademark infringement; or when the registry or ICANN requires it.
• Your details are shared with the registrar, the registry and, for gTLDs, ICANN's data-escrow provider, as explained in our Privacy policy.

Nameservers and DNS

You choose the nameservers your domain uses. If you use ours, DNS is covered by our Uptime SLA. If you use another provider's, that provider is responsible for it. After you change nameservers or records, it can take up to 24 hours for the change to be seen everywhere because of DNS caching. Our DNS lookup tool shows what public resolvers currently see.

Disputes over a domain name

• gTLDs. You agree to take part in proceedings under ICANN's Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy (UDRP) and, for newer gTLDs, the Uniform Rapid Suspension system (URS), if someone with a trademark complains about your domain.
• .in domains. Disputes are decided under the .IN Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (INDRP), run by NIXI, with arbitrators appointed under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996.
• During a dispute the domain is locked: it can't be transferred or have its registrant changed until the proceeding ends.
• Decisions. The registrar implements the panel's decision. Under the UDRP, a decision to transfer or cancel a domain is put into effect after 10 business days unless you show that you've started court proceedings.
• Courts and authorities. We also comply with orders of competent Indian courts and with directions issued under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
• Disputes about who controls an account, for example between business partners, or with a former employee or agency, are resolved using the registration data and documentary evidence. We may lock the domain while this happens.

Suspension and registry action

We, the registrar or the registry may suspend, lock, cancel or transfer a domain:

• if registrant details are false or unverified, or you don't answer an accuracy check within 15 days;
• if fees aren't paid, or a payment is reversed through a chargeback;
• if the domain is used for DNS abuse, which means phishing, malware, botnets, pharming, or spam used to spread these; registrars must act promptly on evidence of DNS abuse under their ICANN accreditation;
• to comply with the law, a court order, a government direction, a dispute decision or registry policy; or
• to correct a mistake made in registering the domain.

We'll tell you what happened and what you can do about it, unless the law doesn't allow us to. Abuse reports about domains go through our report abuse page.

Fees and refunds

• Prices are in rupees and exclude GST, which is added at 18%.
• Registration, renewal, transfer and restore fees are non-refundable once the registry has accepted the request, because we pay the registry straight away. A domain can't be cancelled for a refund after it's registered. See the Refund & cancellation policy.
• If a registry rejects a registration or a transfer fails, we refund the fee in full, or credit it to your account if you prefer.

Our liability

Our liability is limited as set out in the Terms of Service. In particular, we aren't responsible for losing a domain because a renewal wasn't paid in time, for decisions or outages of a registry, ICANN or NIXI, for DNS hosted elsewhere, or for a third party registering a name after it has been released.

Registry and ICANN policies

These policies form part of this Agreement for the domains they cover:

• ICANN Registrants' Benefits and Responsibilities
• ICANN Registrant Educational Information
• ICANN Transfer Policy
• Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy (UDRP)
• .IN Registry (NIXI): .IN policies, including the INDRP
• The policies of each registry, which are linked from the registry's own website.

Changes to this agreement

We may update this Agreement, for example when ICANN, NIXI or a registry changes its policies. The current version is always on this page with its "Last updated" date. If a change materially reduces your rights, we'll email you at least 30 days before it takes effect, unless a registry or ICANN requires it to apply sooner.

Contact us

Domain support: open a ticket, available 24/7. Questions about this Agreement: legal@virtualcloud.in, or by post to [Registered company name], [Registered office address], India. Abuse involving a domain: report abuse. Complaints: our Grievance Officer.