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Domain Chief

Getting started

Use this guide the first time you open Domain Chief. You will prepare the selected team for domain operations, review the settings applied to new domains, and register a reserved .example domain without buying a public name.

Complete the team setup

Domain Chief requires each team to have a valid default contact with a verified email address. If the selected team is not ready, Domain Chief opens Onboarding before allowing you to continue to the dashboard or a domain action.

Enter the contact details

1. Use the team selector to choose the team that will own and pay for its domains.
2. In Contact Details, enter the real name, address, email address, and phone number for the person or organization responsible for the domains.
3. If the registrant is a company, enter its legal company details and VAT number when the form asks for them.
4. Select Save.

The first saved contact becomes the team's default contact. Domain Chief starts new registrations and transfers with this contact, but you can create and select other contacts later.

Verify the contact email

1. In Verify Contact E-mail, check the address shown under Contact Information.
2. Open the verification email and follow its link.
3. Return to Domain Chief. The page checks the verification status automatically.
4. When the page shows Verified, select Continue.

Allow at least five minutes for the message to arrive and check the spam folder. Select Restart verification only when the first message has not arrived.

If onboarding interrupted a domain search or another page, Continue returns you to that task. Otherwise, it opens the dashboard.

For later contact changes and registry verification, see Manage registrant contacts and WHOIS privacy.

Review the defaults for new domains

Open Settings and check these sections before registering a public domain:

• Nameservers controls whether new registrations and transfers start with Domain Chief nameservers or custom nameservers. Domain Chief nameservers are the default.
• WHOIS Privacy controls whether privacy is enabled by default for new domains when the TLD supports it.
• Nameserver Templates stores sets of custom nameservers that you use regularly.

These settings apply to future registrations and transfers. Changing them does not rewrite existing domains. You can still choose different supported settings on an individual registration or transfer.

If another provider will host your DNS, prepare its nameserver hostnames before registering. The nameserver and DNSSEC guide explains the difference between Domain Chief and custom nameservers.

Register a free test domain

Use the reserved .example TLD to learn the registration flow without paying for or publishing a real domain.

1. Open Dashboard and select Register.
2. In Domain name, enter a synthetic name such as first-workspace.example.
3. Select Search domains.
4. Find the exact .example result and select Register.
5. Review the domain, free registration and renewal prices, nameservers, contact, and WHOIS privacy choice.
6. Accept any agreement shown on the page and select Register.

Domain Chief opens the domain page after accepting the request. Treat the registration as complete when the domain becomes active.

You can safely use this domain to try contacts, hosted DNS records, nameservers, redirects, and transfer scenarios. See Test with .example domains for the supported test cases.

Choose your next task

• Register a public domain when you are ready to review real availability, prices, DNS, and contact settings.
• Transfer a domain when you already own a domain at another registrar.
• Manage DNS records when a domain uses Domain Chief nameservers.
• Understand billing and pending payments before starting a paid registration, transfer, or renewal.

Troubleshooting

Why does Domain Chief keep opening Onboarding?

The selected team does not yet have a valid and verified default contact. Complete Contact Details, verify the displayed email address, and select Continue.

Why did the verification email go to the wrong address?

Correct the email address in Contact Details, save it, and restart verification. Check the address shown under Contact Information before opening the new message.

Why does the .example website not open?

This is expected. .example domains are reserved test names and do not use public DNS. Use one to learn Domain Chief, then register or transfer a public domain when you need a working website or email service.

Why did Domain Chief return to a registration page after setup?

Domain Chief remembers the page that required a verified contact. Completing onboarding resumes that intended task instead of always sending you to the dashboard.