My web designer won't give me my domain: what to do

Start by finding out who is actually listed as the registrant, then put your request to the registrar in writing rather than only to the designer. Most of these situations are an admin problem rather than a dispute, and they come unstuck because the request never reaches the company that can act on it.

Everything below is from Nominet, which runs .uk, and from WIPO, which now handles .uk domain disputes. This is a description of how the system works, not legal advice, and a solicitor is the right person to ask if real money is at stake.

First, the language

It helps to drop the word "own". Nominet's registration terms say a domain name "is not an item of property and has no 'owner'".

What exists instead is the registrant: in Nominet's words, the person entered into the register as the responsible person for the domain name. Alongside the registrant is the registrar, which Nominet defines as an agent who acts on your behalf in registering and administering the name.

So the thing to ask for is not that somebody sells or hands over your domain. It is that the register is changed so your business is the registrant. That is a normal, routine transaction.

Step 1: find out who the registrant is

Use Nominet's lookup tool at rdap.nominet.uk. The older public WHOIS is being retired and replaced by RDAP, and Nominet now points people at the RDAP client.

What you will see is the registration date and status, which registrar is acting as the agent, and the name servers. What you may not see is the registrant's own name and address, because those appear only where the registrant has opted in to having them published.

That sounds unhelpful, and it is still worth doing, because the registrar is the piece of information you need for the next step and it is shown either way.

Step 2: ask the registrar, not only the designer

Nominet's terms say your registrar acts on your behalf, and that you should always contact your registrar first with any request or question about your domain name or changes to it.

This is the step people skip. The designer may be a reseller, or may simply have stopped replying. The registrar is a company with a support desk and an obligation to act on proper instructions, and it is usually easier to deal with.

Write to them with:

• The domain name.
• Your business name and the name of the person asking.
• What you want: the registrant changed to your business.
• Anything showing the domain is used for your business, such as invoices from the designer, your email address at that domain, or your website.

Step 3: ask for the change of registrant in writing

Nominet's terms say it will make changes to the register in accordance with your instructions to transfer or cancel your domain name or to change registrar. Keep the request clear and in writing so there is a record, and ask the registrar what it needs from you to process it.

While you are there, make sure the contact details held for the domain are yours and are current. Nominet's terms put that on the registrant: you have to give and keep Nominet notified of correct name, postal address, phone and email contact information. If the designer's email is on file, renewal notices go to them and not to you, which is how domains quietly lapse.

Step 4: if you get nowhere

If the registrar will not act and the designer will not agree, there is a formal route, but read what it covers before pinning hopes on it.

The .uk Dispute Resolution Service deals with what the policy calls an Abusive Registration: broadly, a domain that is identical or similar to a name or mark you have rights in, registered or used in a way that takes unfair advantage of you or causes you unfair detriment. The available outcomes are transfer, suspension or cancellation of the name.

Disputes filed on or after 7 July 2026 are administered by WIPO rather than by Nominet, and complaints go through WIPO's eFiling portal or by email to its domain platform address. There are two stages: mediation first, and if that does not resolve things within ten working days, the parties are invited to pay for an independent expert to decide. WIPO publishes a schedule of fees for .uk disputes, and payment is needed before the expert stage.

Be realistic about the fit. The service is built for abusive registrations, not for every disagreement with a supplier, and a designer who registered the name for you in the ordinary course of work is not obviously an abusive registrant. It is a route worth knowing about, and often the better use of it is that it exists at all.

Doing it differently next time

Whoever builds your next site, ask one question before any work starts: will my business be the registrant on the domain, from day one? Then check it yourself with the lookup once it is registered, rather than taking it on trust.

It is also worth knowing that some providers are explicit about this in their terms and some are silent. We went through what UK trade specialists charge and what they say about leaving, and the difference between them was bigger on that question than on price.

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