The Admin-C was the official contact person for the administrative aspects of a domain, alongside the Tech-C and the domain name owner. He was responsible for changes to domain data, name servers and contact details, and served as the central point of contact for registrar inquiries or disputes. With the introduction of GDPR in 2018, this role was largely removed or limited to internal use for many TLDs.
Domain name
Your domain in one click
-
1 Wildcard SSL certificate per contract
-
Included Domain Connect feature for simplified DNS setup
What is Admin-C?
Admin-C, short for Administrative Contact, formerly referred to the official contact person for administrative aspects of a domainfor example for changes to contact details or name servers. This role did not always correspond to the domain name owner, although this was often the case for individuals. Today, Admin-C is no longer required for many domain extensions, particularly for domains in .frand is no longer collected systematically according to registers. Its functions are now largely carried out by Tech-C or by automated processes.
The Admin-C also served as the central point of contact in the event of a dispute or for requests from registrars. Today, these exchanges go through standardized email addresses or directly through the register. In some cases, an Admin-C may still be registered, notably for certain Top-Level-Domains (TLDs) or country-specific top-level domains. Due to data protection regulations, this information is often no longer publicly accessible. This development is mainly explained by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which has strongly regulated the collection and dissemination of personal data.
Note
The obligation to inform an Admin-C is no longer systematic for many generic TLDs such as .com Or .net under the new ICANN Registration Data Policy. However, this information may still be recorded internally by the registrar or register, or offered as an option according to the rules specific to each register. So, even though Admin-C data is no longer publicly available for domains in .frrequirements vary by TLD and ICANN guidelines.
What role did C-Admin play before and after GDPR?
Before GDPR came into force in 2018, Admin-C was a central part of a domain’s registry data. This was a natural person registered as an administrative contact in the Whois database, contactable for any questions related to the management of the domain. This information, such as name, address, email and telephone number, was publicly accessible and could be viewed by authorities, competitors or anyone making a request.
With the entry into force of the GDPR, this practice has been profoundly modified. Since personal data can no longer be processed and published except within a framework strictly defined by the GDPR, Admin-C is no longer collected or displayed for many TLDs. Instead, Afnic requests, in addition to the mandatory information from the domain name owner, two generic email addresses : one intended for general and technical requests, the other for reporting abusive or illegal uses of a domain (Domain Abuse). The management of these addresses is the responsibility of the relevant registrar. This approach makes it possible to respect the principle of data minimization and to limit the risks of misuse of personal information.
Note
It’s not just Admin-C that has disappeared: the personal contact details of the technical contact (Tech-C) are no longer collected or published either. Likewise, information relating to the zone manager (Zone-C) must no longer be transmitted to the register. This reporting obligation, previously in force, has been completely removed in the new directives.
How to identify the manager of a domain without Admin-C?
Even if Admin-C no longer exists in its classic form, it is still possible to identify the person responsible for a domain. To do this, you can perform a RDAP query. RDAP is the modern system that has replaced the Whois lookup and provides structured information about domains, including registered contacts, where this data is not restricted for data protection reasons. Today, much information is hidden or only partially accessible in order to preserve confidentiality.
In some cases, people with a legitimate interest, such as lawyers, trademark owners or authorities, can make an extended request to the registry or registrar for additional information. Conversely, without justification of such an interest, this data is not communicated.
Domain ownership: personal data remains collected
Unlike Admin-C, some data continues to be collected from the domain name owner. When registering a domain, it becomes the co-contractor of the awarding body. By registering a web address, you become the owner of the domain. However, the holder is not necessarily a natural person. For example, a company can be registered as the domain holder. It is also possible, depending on the registers, to associate a natural person or a company with the domain.
Besides the namethe following information is mandatory:
- L’mailing address
- THE phone number
- L’e-mail address
Even if Afnic (French Association for Internet Naming in Cooperation) continues to collect this data after the entry into force of the GDPR, it is no longer made public via Whois search. The name, postal address, telephone number and email address must be transmitted to the appropriate registrar. To ensure the proper functioning of the domain, technical data such as name servers and DNS keys remain essential and continue to be collected and processed. Apart from these elements, a public Whois domain search now only allows you to consult the domain registration status (registered or not).
