Keeping Registration Data Accurate
Registrar Obligations
ICANN requires that registrars must send reminders to registrants to provide accurate and reliable contact information. If the domain name registrant knowingly provides inaccurate information, fails to update information within seven days of any change, or does not respond within 15 days to an inquiry about accuracy, the registrar must suspend or cancel the domain name.
Additionally, any Internet user can contact ICANN Contractual Compliance concerning a suspected inaccuracy of registration data using the complaint form available here.
After ICANN Contractual Compliance receives and confirms an inaccuracy complaint, it contacts the relevant registrar to take appropriate measures to investigate the claimed inaccuracy. Under the 2013 Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA), registrars are also required to reverify and validate certain RDDS fields in response to a registration data inaccuracy claim.
Registry Obligations
In order to verify and ensure the operational stability of registry services, as well as to facilitate compliance checks on accredited registrars, registries provide ICANN with weekly, specific, up-to-date registration data, per their agreement with ICANN. Registries also are required, in exceptional cases such as failure of a registry, to provide bulk access to thick registration data to ICANN.
Registrant Obligations
Per the RAA, registration agreements with registrants must include provisions directing them to "provide accurate and reliable contact details and correct and update them within seven (7) days of any change during the term of the Registered Name registration." Should the registrant not comply with the above or fail "to respond for over fifteen (15) days to inquiries by Registrar concerning the accuracy of contact details", the registrar may suspend and/or cancel the registration.
For more information on renewing your domain name, see here.
Accuracy Reporting System (ARS)
Between December 2015 and June 2018, ICANN org published an Accuracy Reporting System (ARS) report every six months. ICANN org made the decision to pause further reports based on the adoption of the Temporary Specification for gTLD Registration Data following the adoption and subsequent enforcement of the GDPR.
Additionally, inquiries made by registrars as to whether it is permissible to provide certain registration data to ICANN in response to a WHOIS inaccuracy ticket issued by ICANN Contractual Compliance because of the ARS caused ICANN org to reconsider continuing with the system.
For more information on Registration Data Accuracy Requirements and GDPR, see here.
For historical information regarding the ARS Project see here.
For historical reports and webinars related to the ARS project see here.