Change of Legal Ownership for Australian domains
A common misunderstanding is that you can transfer an Australian domain name and this changes the legal ownership of the domain name. This is not the case. The auDA requires that you pay a fee and lodge a formal change of legal ownership. If you do not complete the process of legally changing ownership of your domain, you may be using a domain name that you not the legal registrant for and this becomes an issue when you are selling your business or your registration is challenged. It is best to make sure that the domains you own are listed correctly as there would be nothing worse than investing a website on a domain name and finding that you do not even legally own that domain name.
To check the registration details for an Australian domain name, visit http://www.ausregistry.com.au/whois.php , enter your domain name and the website will tell you who is listed as the legal registrant of the domain name.
The cost involved to change legal ownership, is as follows:
- A new domain name registration term. See Australian Domain Prices
- $95 to lodge a change of legal ownership
How do I lodge a change of legal ownership
Firstly, you need to transfer the domain name to us, in order for us to assist you. Transferring your domain name is free and you should NOT renew the domain name on transfer because a new domain name registration is required after a change of legal ownership.
See Transfer domains for how to transfer your domain name to us. This may involve getting the current registrant to fill in the online form and authorize the transfer to us. It is usually fairly straightforward to transfer a domain name but if you have any problems, let us know.
Then, after the domain has been transferred, please contact manager@passioncomputing.com.au and request a change of legal ownership for your domain. You will be sent out the necessary forms and invoice. You will need to have the current registrant sign the form.
Complete the forms and pay the invoice, and we will do the rest. Please note: Australian domain names must be registered for a minimum of 6 months before you change the legal ownership.
Common Reasons for changing legal ownership
- Buying a new business
- Buying a domain name from another person or company
- Transferring legal ownership of your domain name from a sole trader to company, partnership to company, company to trust, etc.
Common Reasons why you may be able to change or update the registry database without having to lodge a change of legal ownership
Circumstances under which a registrar may process a correction to registrant details include:
a) where the registrar or the registrant submitted incorrect data at the time of registration (eg. to correct a misspelling of the registrant’s name);
b) where the domain name was incorrectly registered to the wrong party (eg. the domain name was registered in the name of a company employee instead of the name of the company);
c) where the domain name was incorrectly registered in the name of the reseller or other agent (website developer, web designer, advertising agent, etc) who arranged the registration; and
d) where otherwise authorised by auDA.
If you feel that you fall into any of the above categories, please transfer your domain name to us and email us as to the reason why you require a registry update.
For more information on auDA policy see, http://www.auda.org.au/policies/auda-2008-08/