It is important to choose the right domain registrar for your purposes. The most important criteria in choosing your domain registrar are ICANN Accreditation and the country of the registrar. Read more below.
Criteria
ICANN Accreditation
Only ICANN Accredited domain name registrars can sell domain names with an extension like .com and .net. If you purchase your domain from a company that is not ICANN Accredited, that company will resell the domain to you from an ICANN Accredited registrar. This is not an ideal situation for you for the following reasons:
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It increases your costs. Every middle hand in the supply chain takes their own cut, which means that the price you pay is likely not from the cheaper end.
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In contrast to ICANN Accredited companies, the background, financial situation and technical competence of resellers has not been verified. Obtaining an ICANN Accreditation for a company is a demanding process, which is why there are currently only about 2660 companies in the world that possess it.
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Resellers do not have same obligations as ICANN Accredited registrars. If your reseller for example goes out of business, it may turn out difficult for you to still manage your domain. In the worst case, you may be unable to renew your domain name, it may expire and you may lose it.
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If there is an issue, the reseller may not be able to solve it on their own and they may need to reach out to their supplier. Due to the extra middle hand it can take longer for the issue to be resolved.
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It is not always clear through which registrar your reseller purchases your domain. The country of the actual registrar matters (see next criteria).
You can find the list of ICANN Accredited domain name registrars from here.
NordName is an ICANN Accredited registrar since 2022.
Country of registrar
If there is a dispute regarding your domain name, you may be subject to the legislation of the country of your actual domain name registrar (not your reseller). For example, if a third party believes that you have infringed their trademark with your domain name and you have purchased your domain name from an US registrar, you may be sued for this in the US. This is due to the fact that when you register a domain name, you agree to the UDRP which defines how disputes are resolved and under which legislation.
It is not in the best benefit of the domain name owner if they can be subject to the legislation of a foreign country. Even if the legislation and end result favours the domain name owner, the owner can experience unnecessary hassle due to for example travel to court proceedings.
Observe that it is the country of your actual domain name registrar which matters. If you purchase your domain name from a reseller, the country of the reseller is not as significant. If you purchase your domain name from a reseller, ensure you know what registrar they use.
NordName is a domain name registrar based in Finland. When you purchase a domain name from NordName, any disputes regarding your domain name may be resolved according to Finnish legislation.