Domain Names

If you have registered a domain name through PRHL, thank you! You may find the answers to some of your questions below — as always, though, feel free to contact us if anything isn’t covered. ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers - the body which sets standards for the Internet as a whole) publish some more general background information on domain name registrations, which you can read here. You should also read our terms and conditions for domain name registrations.

How long does a domain registration last?

Most registrations are for two years, though some names are only registered for one. Depending on the name, other periods may be possible — let us know if that’s of interest to you.

What happens when the name is due for renewal?

We will contact you (by E-mail) a month or so before the registration expires, to let you know that the renewal is due, and how much it will cost to renew the registration. If you want to renew though us, simply let us know and we’ll bill you once the renewal date is passed. If you don’t want to renew the name, you can just ignore the reminder (though if you let us know you definitely don’t want it any more, we can stop bothering you about it!). If you’d like to renew the name, but not with us, that’s no problem, though of course we’d be sorry to see you go — please see the questions about transfers, below.

What do domain names cost?

It depends on the domain — in general, .uk domains are slightly cheaper than generic domains such as .com; more obscure ones, .tv for example, are often far more expensive. As ever, we’d be happy to give you a price for a particular domain, just ask us.

How can I find out who owns a particular domain name?

You can try our WHOIS tool, but in general personal information for domain owners isn’t available.

How do I update the registration information for my domain name?

We can make most changes for you — just tell us what you need done. For .uk names, you can make some changes directly with Nominet’s Online Services (you’ll need the “welcome” E-mail they sent when you first registered the domain to log in).

How can I set up E-mail addresses, or a web site, with my domain name?

We can provide whatever Internet-based services you need. Note, though, that the fee for the domain name only covers the registration of the name itself, services like mailboxes or web space are charged separately. Since we pride ourselves on providing a solution specific to your needs, there’s no set list of possible services and prices — please let us know what you need.

I have a domain name registered elsewhere, which I’d like PRHL to look after.

For a .uk domain, the simplest thing is usually to tell the present ISP to “change the tag for domain name to PRHL”. That should be a quick process (a few minutes), and is likely to be free (ISPs may make a charge, but most don’t). Or you can log on to Nominet’s Online Services and change the tag yourself, though note that there is a charge for that, so going through the current ISP is usually a better bet.

For most other domains, the process is more complicated. First of all the domain needs to be “unlocked” to allow a transfer — that’s normally done by the current ISP. They should also give you an authorisation code, which you’ll need to pass to us. You also need to make sure that the contact E-mail address(es) associated with the domain are correct — again, the present ISP should be able to amend them if necessary. We then make a transfer request, which is usually passed to the listed contact addresses for approval. A transfer of most generic domains (.com, .net, etc) usually takes a few days, though some can complete in a few minutes, and some can take longer. The transfer itself is usually free of charge, though transferring some domains (eg .com) automatically extends their registration by a year, and there is a charge for that extra registration.

I would like someone other than PRHL to look after my domain names.

The process is more-or-less the reverse of that listed above — for a .uk domain, you need to tell us the tag of the new ISP, and we’ll make the transfer. That takes a few minutes, and is free of charge. For other domains, we’ll unlock the domain, and provide you with the authorisation code; you’ll need to pass those to your new ISP to effect the transfer. We don’t make any charge for that, but the new ISP probably will.

I would like to sell (or give) my domain name to someone else.

Again, the process to follow depends on the domain name in question. For a .uk domain, you must make the transfer yourself, through the “Registrant Transfer” service at Nominet’s Online Services. For most other domains, we can make the change in owner details for you, we simply need to know the details of the new owner.

Transferring domain names can be a confusing process, and is an area where our personal approach can be very helpful — please feel free to contact us if you feel there’s anything we can do for you.

I have a complaint about abuse of a domain name registered through PRHL.

We take all abuse complaints very seriously. Please let us know the details of the problem, either by E-mail to Abuse@PRHL.net, by phone to 020 8868 4719, (from outside the UK, +44 20 8668 4719), or by filling in our contact form here. We will respond to any complaint within 4 working hours.

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