Designated registrar

An end user cannot directly register and manage their domain name information with ICANN. A designated registrar must be chosen to have one's domain names registered and managed with the appropriate registry on their behalf. Prior to 1999, the only .com registrar was NSI, but the approval of the SRS opened up the opportunity for other companies to be designated as registrars.

Only one designated registrar may modify or delete information about a domain name. The competition that SRS created enables the end user to choose from many registrars offering different services at varying prices. It is not unusual for an end user to wish to switch registrars. Thus, there is the domain name transfer clause.