Frequently Asked Questions

The NearlyFreeSpeech.NET FAQ (*)

Domain Registration (*)

How do I change the name servers of a domain registered here?

What are the steps involved in an inbound domain transfer?

I let my domain expire a while ago. Now I'm trying to renew it and I get "renewal failed." Why?

I have a domain with a proxy privacy registration service. Can I transfer it to NearlyFreeSpeech.NET?

I want to transfer a domain to NearlyFreeSpeech.NET. Will my site/DNS/email go down if I do?

What happens to my domain's name server settings during a transfer?

Can I add or remove RespectMyPrivacy on a domain I already registered here or transferred?

Is NearlyFreeSpeech.NET an ICANN-accredited registrar?

Will you remind me before my domain expires?

If I still have time left on my existing domain registration with another registrar, can I keep that time if I transfer the domain to NearlyFreeSpeech.NET?

Why is my domain transfer taking so long?

What happens to my domain after it expires?

Why is the domain I transferred to NearlyFreeSpeech.NET not pointing to my site?

Why am I still paying for RespectMyPrivacy service on my expired domain?

Can I create child name servers (glue records) within my domain?

What's the maximum number of years for which I can register a domain name?

What does the error "The name server modification failed." mean?

What is whois verification?

How I do I get the transfer code for a domain registered here?

Will you be adding additional top-level domains to register?

Where are the actions for editing my registered domain?

Do I need to put valid contact information on my domain registration?

What happens if my domain transfer fails?

Can you send the domain transfer approval to a different email address?

I have a bunch of domains to register/renew/transfer. Can you help?

How do I renew my domain name?

How long does it take to transfer a domain away from NearlyFreeSpeech.NET?

How do I transfer a domain registration away from NearlyFreeSpeech?

What top-level domains do you support for registration?

When should I renew my domain name?

How do I get rid of a registered domain I no longer want?

Why does domain registration have different Terms of Service than NearlyFreeSpeech.NET hosting?

Why did my domain transfer fail?

I renewed my expired domain. Why is it still parked?

Why does my domain registrar show as "external?"

What are the steps of a domain registration?

I deposited funds for my domain registration renewal but it hasn't been renewed. What's wrong?

What does the error "the contact information you entered was not accepted by the registry" mean?

I don't want to keep my domain. How do I stop receiving emails that it's going to expire?

When is RespectMyPrivacy enabled during domain registration?

Why doesn't the domain name I just renewed show up in the renewal monitor?

Why do I get "Invalid URL" when I click the email link to approve or cancel a domain transfer or verify a domain contact?

The unique link you receive via email when you approve or cancel a domain transfer or verify a domain contact is only valid once. If it's already been accessed for any reason, you will receive the (incredibly unhelpful) error message "Invalid URL." This message/page is not generated by us and we have no control over its content.

If you encounter "Invalid URL" by surprise, usually this means one of two things has happened. Either your email client has "helpfully" prefetched the URL, or, most frequently, you double-clicked the link in the email causing it to load twice. In both cases, the action you're verifying is already done.

If you're transferring a domain to us and you get this from the approval link, this means the transfer is approved and you can confirm this by going to the domain's info panel in our member interface (select "Manage" in the "Registrar" column for the domain on the Domains panel) and confirming the Action status is "Transfer waiting for Losing Registrar Approval." Likewise, if you get it from the cancel link, the domain transfer is already pending cancel and should be killed and refunded within a few hours.

If you are transferring a domain away from us, this means the transfer will be blocked.

If you're approving a contact, this means the contact is approved and that status should reflect in our UI within an hour.

If you receive this message and whatever you're doing doesn't show up as successful (i.e. the Action status is still "waiting for admin contact approval" or the domain still shows as unverified after an hour) then it's also possible your email client may be breaking up or mangling the URL. Check to make sure it hasn't split the URL onto multiple lines, possibly adding a character at the end of the first line.

Does NearlyFreeSpeech allow managing DNSSEC (DS) records?

How do I update the public WHOIS contacts for a domain registered here?

What are ccTLDs, and why don't you support registering them?

How does manual registration of domains work for subscription members?