Registration on behalf of a client

[huwnet]

I am going to be starting a small hosting service soon. Part of this will involve domains. Domains will be registered by a third-party registrar with the owners details but the company as the administrative contact.

Is there anything I need to be aware of when registering domains on behalf of a client?

[Webwork]

If I understand what you're asking I'd say don't do it.

Registering domains "on behalf of clients" (in some other company's name, not the client's name) is widely viewed as a very bad practice. Too many reported cases of domains being held hostage or domains not being renewed.

Explain the domain registration process to the client - especially the part about THEM registering the dmoain for 10 years - and tell the client to protect their administrative email address like Fort Knox or the family jewels.

There may be other points of view or people with other experiences who could speak to the issue of "who should register the domain and in whose name".

[opifex]

If you want the extra admin hassels .... create an acct for the client, register as them with you as the admin/tech. Comes down to a trust issue. as admin you can do anything with the account and that can be good for emergency server changes, etc. If they are admin hopefully you can get in touch with them to approve changes.

[davezan]

Various hosts do this, including some big names. It all boils down to the legal fine prints.

And knowing what you're doing, of course. ;)