Becoming a domain registrar can be a lucrative opportunity as there is constant demand for domain names. As a domain registrar, you can offer domain registration services to individuals/organizations who are trying to register a domain name, helping others establish an online presence. As a registrar, you have control over your own prices and policies. Separately, you may be interested in becoming a domain registrar as an additional service to offer your customers if you have an existing digital business.

While becoming a registrar can be a great opportunity for those with networking and internet infrastructure skills, the process to become a registrar is not for everyone. The process to become a domain registrar is as follows:

1) First, you must get accredited with a registry. ICANN registration is most common, although there are other registries. Becoming a registrar can cost tens of thousands of dollars (minimum price is $4,000 with ICANN).

2) Getting accredited will involve technical requirements. For instance, you will need a specific domain name server. You will also need a WHOIS database, which stores information about registered domain names and their respective registrants. This data needs to be publicly accessible for reasons related to cybercrime and intellectual property investigations.

3) Financial requirements also need to be met. Apart from paying fees, you will need to demonstrate financial stability to the registry of your choice (essentially, you need financial reserves to fund your clients' domains in real time).

4) You will need to ensure you provide adequate customer support. While your registry will have a minimum requirement in this area, providing a user-friendly customer experience will go far in your path to being a successful domain registrar given that domain registration is already a popular space.

5) While not an express requirement of getting accredited, marketing your registry will make it more likely for your registry to succeed, as domain registration is a highly competitive space.

6) Maintain compliance with current policies of your accreditation or any new rules/regulations that may arise. Note that this list may not be exhaustive. For example, insurance requirements may exist to cover potential liability. We hope this was a helpful overview of the requirements necessary to become a domain registrar.