When a domain registrar ignores your abuse report: ICANN
A .com, .net, .org or other generic-extension site is registered through a “registrar” (a domain name registration company). Its contract with ICANN requires it to receive abuse reports, investigate them and respond appropriately. If it does not, you can complain to ICANN.
Who it is for
Anyone who has reported an unlawful site (fake site, stolen content, image shared without consent, phishing…) to the registrar of its generic domain name without getting a proper response. A last resort, after the platform and the web host.
Time frame
No fixed deadline: the registrar must take “reasonable and prompt steps” to investigate and respond; ICANN handles the complaint depending on its complexity. A 24-hour review only applies to reports from authorities (police, etc.).
Cost
Free.
Legal basis
ICANN’s Registrar Accreditation Agreement (2013 RAA), section 3.18, amended on 5 April 2024: publish an abuse contact on the homepage (email or a web form with no login), acknowledge receipt, take reasonable and prompt steps to investigate and respond appropriately to reports, and act against “DNS Abuse” (phishing, malware, botnets, pharming, and spam used to deliver them). It is not a law but a private contract that ICANN enforces.
The steps
- Find the site’s registrar with ICANN’s official Lookup tool (lookup.icann.org): enter the domain name and note the registrar’s abuse contact.
- Check the extension: ICANN only has authority over generic extensions (.com, .net, .org, .info…). For .fr, .es, .us and other country-code extensions, contact that country’s registry.
- Send the registrar a clear report: exact URLs, what is unlawful and why, screenshots. Since April 2024 it must send or display an acknowledgement showing its name, the domain and the date: keep it.
- Give it a reasonable time to investigate: ICANN asks you not to complain on the same day as your report.
- If it does not respond appropriately, file an online complaint using ICANN’s “Abuse/DNS Abuse (Registrar)” form, attaching proof of your report and all exchanges. You can ask for your contact details not to be shared with the registrar.
- You will receive an email with a case number; answer quickly if ICANN asks for more information.
What to prepare
- The domain name and the exact URLs concerned
- A copy of your report to the registrar and its acknowledgement
- All later exchanges
- Screenshots showing the problem, with the URL visible
- A short explanation of what the registrar failed to do
Official links
- ICANN Lookup – find a domain’s registrar
- ICANN – “Abuse/DNS Abuse (Registrar)” complaint form
- ICANN – step-by-step complaint guide (PDF)
- IANA – check whether an extension is generic or country-code
The limits you should know
- ICANN does not control internet content and never removes content: it can only require the registrar to honour its contract.
- Country-code extensions (.fr, .es, .us…) are outside ICANN’s remit.
- For content issues (other than phishing, malware and other “DNS Abuse”), the registrar must investigate and respond, but it may decide the web host is better placed to act.
- A registrar can only act on the whole domain (for example by suspending it), which takes the entire site offline: it may prefer to refer you to the web host.
- Without proof that you reported to the registrar first, ICANN cannot process the complaint.
If it doesn’t work
An official form can go unanswered or be wrongly refused. That’s not the end: there are other doors, heavier but effective — the company hosting the site, the company managing its domain name, the laws of your country, the data protection authority. That’s exactly what we do for you, with your agreement.
- Reporting to the platform
- A written request to the site owner
- The domain name registrar
- The hosting company
- Search engines
- The authority or the courts
This information helps you use your rights. It doesn’t replace advice from a lawyer.