Should I Certify The Domain Names I Buy?

Some domain name registrar's offer a process that will certify the domain names you buy. A Certified domain provides the owner's Web site with a certified seal that alerts customers that the owner is the legal originator of the domain. This feature eases customer concerns and assures them that vendors are who they say they are. When you apply for the Certified Domain authorization and validation process it serves to verify that the certificate requester is the registrant of the domain for which the certificate is being requested. It also checks to verify the Who is database contains accurate and valid contact information for the Administrative, Technical, and Registrant contacts. Fraud screening is usually included in the process. Normally every 2 years the Certified Domain authorization and validation process is completed. Anyone who has a domain registered can apply for a Certified Domain. To successfully process the application and issue the seal control the domain in question must be verified along with the requester's contact information. Using an automated and manual processes, if the verifier is unable to locate contact information for the domain administrator, the Certified Domain request is denied. If the domain administrator, technical contact, or registrant rejects the Certified Domain request upon receiving a domain authorization email message, the request is denied. All recipients of the domain authorization message must approve the request. If fraud screening for the domain in question raises valid suspicion of fraud, the Certified Domain is denied. Sometimes the automated phone call cannot be completed or no valid phone number is submitted or the requestor fails to answer the phone, the Certified Domain request is then denied. A Certified Domain validation is issued for a particular domain name, and the Domain Origination Certified seal is added to the Whois listing for that domain name. Therefore, regardless of the Web site associated with the domain name, the Certified Domain authorization and validation continue to apply to that domain name. If the registration for a domain that has been validated expires before the Domain Origination Certified seal is set to expire, the Domain Origination Certified seal is terminated with the expiration of the domain registration. Though relying on somewhat similar authentication procedures, including verification of requester's contact information and domain registration control, SSL certificates and a Certified Domain serve different purposes. An SSL certificate enables a secure, encrypted connection between a visitor's Web browser and a Web site's server, thus keeping transactions safe from tampering and interception. A Certified Domain simply informs Web site visitors that the registration and control of the Web site's domain name has been validated. A Certified Domain does not establish a secure connection. Once processed and issued, a Domain Origination Certified seal is added to the Whois listing for your domain. In addition, you are provided with HTML code that you can copy and paste into your Web site's source code, so that the Domain Origination Certified seal appears on your site. This information should help give you an idea if you need to certify the domain names you buy.