Domain Name Acquisition Checklist: A Practical Checklist

Most failed domain purchases fail in a place the buyer did not know was a checkpoint: an email signature, a seller who was really an ex-contractor, a change of registrant made a day too soon. This list is meant to catch those. It assumes the buyer holds or will hold a generic top-level domain (.com, .net, .org and the like). Country-code names follow their own registries' rules.

How to use this checklist

Work through the phases in order. Assign a name to each box before starting, because three functions touch this deal (legal, finance, and whoever runs DNS) and items fall between them. Phases 0 through 3 happen before anyone contacts the seller. Skipping them is the most common and most expensive mistake on this list.

Notes explain the reason where the reason changes what you do. Red flags are stop signs: pause and talk to counsel before moving on. For the doctrine, read Buying a Domain Name From Its Current Owner: Brokers, Escrow, Transfers, and the UDRP Risks You Inherit. For the sequence and reasoning, read Acquiring a Domain Name Anonymously and Safely: A Practical Guide. For the actual documents, use Domain Acquisition Toolkit: Outreach Scripts, Purchase Agreements, and Post-Closing Records.

Dates and policy references reflect the status as of this checklist's last modified date. ICANN's transfer reforms were adopted on 7 June 2026 but have not been confirmed as implemented, so Phase 8 must be checked against what your two registrars say they do today.

Phase 0: Go or no-go

• Fix the four dates. First registration of the name; when the current holder acquired it, if known; first use and any registration date of your mark; the holder's current use. Authority: UDRP ¶ 4(a)(iii); 15 U.S.C. § 1125(d). Note: These dates tell you whether you may have a claim or are simply a buyer. Under WIPO Overview 3.1 section 3.8.1, a name registered before a complainant's rights will not normally support bad faith.
• Decide buy, fight, or walk, and record why. Authority: GoPets Ltd. v. Hise, 657 F.3d 1024 (9th Cir. 2011) (panel ruled for the holder because the name predated the company; mark owner then spent years in court). Note: Choosing the Right Domain Name Dispute Procedure: A Practical Guide lays out the procedures if the answer is not "buy."
• Identify the alternatives you would actually use. Modified name, other extension, new coinage.
• Set the opening, target, and walk-away prices and who may change them. Note: Written limits are what stop an enthusiastic team from overpaying in the last round.
• Name one person who will communicate with the seller side. Everyone else stays silent.

Red flag: Someone has already emailed the holder from a company address. Stop, find out exactly what was said, and assume the holder knows who you are. Later representations must be consistent with what was said.

Phase 1: Clear the term and record your intent

• Run a trademark search on the second-level term in your field and related fields: USPTO, state registers, web, app stores, major foreign markets. Authority: 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a); WIPO Overview 3.1 section 3.2.3. Note: Use Trademark Clearance Search Checklist: A Practical Checklist. A hit in a remote field may be acceptable. A hit in your own field is a business decision, not a domain issue.
• Read close hits through a confusion lens. Authority: 15 U.S.C. § 1114(1); see Trademark Likelihood-of-Confusion Analysis: A Practical Checklist.
• Sign a dated intent memo. What the name is for, who will use it, why this term, what clearance found. Authority: UDRP ¶ 4(c)(i); WIPO Overview 3.1 section 2.2 (asks for "clear contemporaneous (and ideally, dated) evidence"). Note: Courts discount promises of future use. See Harrods Ltd. v. Sixty Internet Domain Names, 302 F.3d 214 (4th Cir. 2002), quoted in Prudential Insurance Co. of America v. Shenzhen Stone Network Information Ltd., 58 F.4th 785 (4th Cir. 2023). The memo shows when the plan existed; only real activity shows the plan was real.
• Save formation papers, budgets, wireframes, and brand work with the memo.
• Decide the trademark filing plan. Which entity, and when. Authority: 15 U.S.C. § 1051; 15 U.S.C. § 1060. Note: An intent-to-use application generally cannot be assigned before use except to a successor to the business, so do not file through a shell that will hand it off later. Read Trademark Declaration Accuracy Checklist: A Practical Checklist before anyone signs.

Red flag: The term's only strong meaning points to one company's brand, and your plan depends on people associating you with it. Under Prudential and paragraph 4(b)(iv) of the UDRP, that is the case you lose.

Phase 2: Read the public record silently

• Run RDAP. Save creation, updated, and expiry dates, registrar and IANA ID, status codes, and name servers. Authority: ICANN Registration Data Policy (effective 21 August 2025). Note: A creation date later than the name's visible history indicates a drop and re-registration. That matters under JFXD TRX ACQ LLC v. trx.com, No. 2:23-cv-02330 (D. Ariz. May 8, 2024), which called a brokered purchase and a lapse followed by registration "very different events."
• Read the status codes. clientTransferProhibited is normal. serverTransferProhibited may mean a registry lock or a hold. redemptionPeriod and pendingDelete mean the name is leaving. Authority: Transfer Policy § I.A.3; ICANN Expired Registration Recovery Policy.
• Pull history. Historical WHOIS, historical DNS, and archived web pages. Save screenshots with dates.
• Search UDRP decisions at WIPO and Forum, and federal dockets. Authority: CRS Recovery, Inc. v. Laxton, 600 F.3d 1138 (9th Cir. 2010). Note: A clean search is necessary and insufficient. The buyer in that case searched WIPO and still faced a conversion claim.
• Identify the parking provider or marketplace from the page and name servers.
• Pull comparable sales and write a one-paragraph price rationale.
• Run reputation checks. Blocklists, safe-browsing status, search-engine standing, past content.

Red flag: An established name with an archived operating business until recently, a registrar change, and a recent updated date. This is the shape of a stolen name. See Stolen Domain Names: How Domain Hijacking Happens and the Legal Paths to Getting One Back.

Phase 3: Set up the anonymity structure

• Choose the structure: marketplace purchase, broker, lawyer as agent, stealth entity, or a combination. Authority: Restatement (Third) of Agency § 6.03; ABA Model Rule 4.1 cmt. 2.
• Agree on a script for "who's the buyer?" Refuse, never invent. Authority: Model Rule 4.1 and 8.4(c) (lawyers); state fraud law (everyone). Note: A seller who makes identity a condition has made it material. The acceptable answer is a truthful refusal.
• Form the entity, if used. Real entity, neutral name, registered agent, account, and a monitored mailbox on a domain you control. Note: FinCEN's final rule, effective 14 August 2026, exempts entities formed in the United States from federal beneficial-ownership reporting. Check state law, and expect the bank and escrow agent to collect ownership data anyway.
• Decide who will be the registrant of record long term. Authority: ICANN 2013 Registrar Accreditation Agreement § 3.7.7.3 (holder of record remains responsible when licensing to another); 15 U.S.C. § 1055 (related-company use). Note: Later moves between affiliates are the fact pattern in both Schmidheiny v. Weber, 319 F.3d 581 (3d Cir. 2003) and GoPets Ltd. v. Hise, 657 F.3d 1024 (9th Cir. 2011), and those courts split. Prefer one holder plus a written license.
• Engage the broker in writing, if used. Authority limits; no binding without a signed agreement; confidentiality; conflicts; fee; no threats; records kept. Authority: Bird v. Parsons, 289 F.3d 865 (6th Cir. 2002) (auction platform not liable for trafficking merely because its service might be used for it); § 1125(d)(1)(E) (purchases count as trafficking if your intent is bad). Note: A broker's emails can become evidence, as in Prudential.
• Confirm that the registrant data you will use is true. Authority: 15 U.S.C. § 1125(d) factor VII; UDRP ¶ 2.

Red flag: Anyone suggests a fake name, a fake address, or a borrowed identity "just for the registrar." Use a real entity and, if you wish, a privacy service.

Phase 4: Make contact and negotiate

• Send a short, neutral first message without a price unless one is listed. Use a script from Domain Acquisition Toolkit: Outreach Scripts, Purchase Agreements, and Post-Closing Records.
• Keep one thread and save it all. Authority: WIPO Overview 3.1 section 3.10; Fed. R. Evid. 408. Note: Panels tend to treat discussions as admissible. Rule 408 protects negotiations over a disputed claim, and a pre-dispute price inquiry may have no dispute to protect.
• Do not mention trademarks, UDRP, WIPO, or lawsuits unless counsel has decided to send a demand, as a separate track. Authority: WIPO Overview 3.1 section 4.16 (failed purchase followed by a complaint with no plausible basis is a listed ground for reverse domain name hijacking).
• Do not state a deadline that isn't real. Authority: GoPets Ltd. v. Hise, 657 F.3d 1024 (9th Cir. 2011) (the buyer's stated marketing deadline preceded a $5 million demand).
• Do not state false facts about the buyer. A refusal is enough.
• Note what the seller says about how it got the name and any other offers. Those statements can matter later, as in Prudential's dispute over factor VI.
• Reconfirm price authority before each move above the target.

Red flag: A seller threatens to sell to your competitor or to point the name at something harmful. Preserve it and call counsel. That behavior changes the analysis. See Virtual Works, Inc. v. Volkswagen of America, Inc., 238 F.3d 264 (4th Cir. 2001).

Phase 5: Diligence the seller and the name

• Identify the actual registrant. Confirm the signer has authority; obtain entity documents.
• Ask how and when the seller acquired the name, with records. Authority: CRS Recovery, Inc. v. Laxton, 600 F.3d 1138 (9th Cir. 2010) (void versus voidable title).
• Run a control test. Seller adds a TXT record with your random token and shows the registrar account page. Note: Control is not title, but this filters out imposters and costs nothing.
• Ask whether the seller registered the name for someone else, or as a developer, contractor, partner, or employee. Authority: Jysk Bed'N Linen v. Dutta-Roy, 810 F.3d 767 (11th Cir. 2015); DSPT International, Inc. v. Nahum, 624 F.3d 1213 (9th Cir. 2010); Xereas v. Heiss, 933 F. Supp. 2d 1 (D.D.C. 2013).
• Search for UDRP, URS, and court matters by name and seller, right before signing. Authority: UDRP ¶ 8. Note: Paragraph 8(a) bars transfer during a pending proceeding and for 15 business days after, and the registrar may cancel a transfer in violation.
• Run UCC and judgment searches if the seller is a business or the price is meaningful. Authority: U.C.C. § 9-315(a)(1); Office Depot Inc. v. Zuccarini, 596 F.3d 696 (9th Cir. 2010); compare Network Solutions, Inc. v. Umbro International, Inc., 529 S.E.2d 80 (Va. 2000).
• Screen the seller and any payee against OFAC lists.
• Check transferability against the calendar. Prior transfer or creation in the past 60 days; expiry date; any lock the seller cannot remove. Authority: Transfer Policy § I.A.3.
• List technical dependencies. Certificates in transparency logs, active subdomains, name servers hosted on the name, mail still being received, third-party verification records.
• If the seller has used the term as a brand, identify what rights exist. Authority: 15 U.S.C. § 1060; Sugar Busters LLC v. Brennan, 177 F.3d 258 (5th Cir. 1999).
• Repeat the RDAP check and dispute search the day before closing.

Red flag: The seller refuses escrow, wants wire or crypto, won't say how it got the name, or offers a price far below comparable sales. Any one of these deserves a question. Two together should stop the deal.

Phase 6: Paper the deal

• Name the right parties. The record registrant sells. The buying entity, or an agent "for an undisclosed principal," buys.
• Include a present assignment of the name and registration, plus a quitclaim of related rights. Authority: Kremen v. Cohen, 337 F.3d 1024 (9th Cir. 2003); Network Solutions, Inc. v. Umbro International, Inc., 529 S.E.2d 80 (Va. 2000) (property or contract, so assign both).
• Include representations: sole registrant and authority; acquired lawfully, how and when; no liens, options, or prior assignments; no pending or threatened dispute; no knowledge of third-party claims; truth of data given. Authority: CRS Recovery, Inc. v. Laxton, 600 F.3d 1138 (9th Cir. 2010).
• Add an indemnity, and security for it where it matters: holdback, parent guarantee.
• Add performance covenants: unlock, deliver code, confirm registrar messages, keep the email working, no hidden contact changes, cooperate after closing.
• Add cleanup covenants: move seller accounts off the name, stop using old certificates, remove the name from third-party services.
• Buy the mark with its goodwill, if you need it. Authority: 15 U.S.C. § 1060; Sugar Busters LLC v. Brennan, 177 F.3d 258 (5th Cir. 1999); Recording a Trademark Assignment: A Practical Checklist.
• Add a covenant against similar use, if the seller stays in business.
• Add confidentiality covering the price and the buyer's identity.
• Add remedies: specific performance, and an injunction clause. Authority: Fed. R. Civ. P. 65.
• Ask the tax question before signing. Authority: 26 U.S.C. § 197; Chief Counsel Advice 201543014 (non-precedential, see 26 U.S.C. § 6110(k)(3)). Note: The advice requires capitalization and, on stated facts, 15-year amortization. A name held idle or for resale raises other questions.

Phase 7: Fund escrow

• Choose a licensed, established agent, and reach its site by typing the address. Authority: e.g., Cal. Fin. Code § 17000 and following.
• Confirm wire details by phone, using a number you found yourself.
• Agree on the release trigger: the name is in the buyer's account, the buyer is shown as registrant, and the buyer controls the lock.
• Set an inspection period that covers any Change of Registrant confirmation.
• Decide on a holdback for larger deals. See Escrows, Holdbacks, and Purchase Price Security: Who Holds the Money and Who Gets It Back and Escrow Agreement Review Checklist.
• Ask the agent to keep your know-your-customer data from the other side.

Red flag: The seller proposes an escrow agent you have never heard of, with a site that looks freshly built. Fake escrow is an established scam. Use your own choice or walk.

Phase 8: Close in sequence

Run this phase from a single shared document, with times and names.

Rules in force today

• Confirm your two registrars' current rules, in writing. Authority: Transfer Policy §§ I.A.3, II.C.
• Choose the final registrar and set up the account first. Company-owned, hardware-key multi-factor authentication.
• Check the seller's registrant email works. Note: Any change to the registrant's email address is a Material Change, and that means a Change of Registrant and a 60-day lock unless the holder opted out first (§ II.C). Do not fix the email until you have read the registrar's terms.
• Renew first if the name expires within 60 days, so the transfer does not collide with the expiration process.
• Seller removes clientTransferProhibited and obtains the code. Authority: Transfer Policy § I.A.5 (lock removal and code within five calendar days if no self-service).
• Buyer starts the inter-registrar transfer. The name shows pendingTransfer. Authority: Transfer Policy § I.A.3.5 (five calendar days; silence is approval).
• Seller approves the transfer message to shorten the wait.
• Name arrives. Buyer sets the lock, secures the account, and checks RDAP.
• Buyer then updates the registrant data. Prior and new registrants confirm. Authority: Transfer Policy § II.C.1. Note: The 60-day lock that follows doesn't hurt you now, since the name is at its final registrar.
• Buyer notifies escrow only after the registrant change is complete. Agent releases funds.
• If you took a same-registrar push, calendar the lock's end date and decide the later move.

Reforms adopted but awaiting implementation

• Check whether these now apply. ICANN Board Resolution 2026.06.07.04 adopts 47 recommendations, including: Transfer Authorization Code valid 14 days and usable once (Recs. 9, 13); 30-day restrictions after creation and transfer (Recs. 3, 18); no change-of-registrant lock (Rec. 26.4); no two-sided registrant confirmation (Rec. 26.3). Note: If a 14-day code is in force, do not request it until the deal is ready.

Red flag: The name's status changes unexpectedly mid-closing, such as a new lock, registrar change, or a clientHold. Stop release of funds. It may be a dispute, a theft response, or a seller's second sale.

Phase 9: First day after closing

• Set the registrar lock, and registry lock if the name is valuable. See Domain Name Security and Recovery Checklist: A Practical Checklist.
• Set the registrant email on a different domain from the bought one.
• Turn on auto-renew, buy a multi-year term, and calendar the expiry. Authority: Expired Registration Recovery Policy (notices go to the contact you supply).
• Stand up new DNS. Lower TTLs, handle DNSSEC delegation-signer records, and then change name servers.
• Replace any parked page immediately. Authority: Prudential Insurance Co. of America v. Shenzhen Stone Network Information Ltd., 58 F.4th 785 (4th Cir. 2023); Lahoti v. Vericheck, Inc., 636 F.3d 501 (9th Cir. 2011); WIPO Overview 3.1 section 3.1.1. Note: An ad page with competitor links is the single worst exhibit a buyer can create.

Phase 10: First month

• Create only named mailboxes. No catch-all. Reject the rest. Authority: 18 U.S.C. § 2511; 18 U.S.C. § 2701. Note: Mail intended for the prior owner's people may contain things you do not want to possess.
• Do not use password resets or recovery messages meant for the prior owner's accounts. Authority: 18 U.S.C. § 1030; The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act After Van Buren: Gates, Insiders, Scrapers, and the Loss Requirement.
• Publish SPF, DKIM, and a DMARC reject policy.
• Review certificate transparency logs, and ask the certificate authority to revoke anything not yours.
• Add a CAA record.
• Clear old third-party verification and any prior cloud-tenant claim.
• Check blocklists and search console. Request review if needed.
• Begin visible, documented use. Authority: UDRP ¶ 4(c)(i); WIPO Overview 3.1 section 3.3 (passive holding); Dent v. Lotto Sport Italia S.p.A., No. 2:17-cv-00651 (D. Ariz. Mar. 11, 2020).
• File any planned trademark applications. Authority: 15 U.S.C. § 1051; Fraud on the USPTO: How a False Declaration Can Cost You a Trademark Registration.

Phase 11: The closing file

• Assemble the file: intent memo, clearance, agreement, escrow statements, registrar and transfer records, before-and-after RDAP, history screenshots, seller's acquisition statement, broker letter, first-use proof.
• Record the purchase for tax and book the asset. Authority: 26 U.S.C. § 197; 26 U.S.C. § 167.
• Add the name to the portfolio inventory and renewal calendar.
• Write a one-page response plan for a UDRP complaint: who gets the notice, who answers within 20 days, who decides on suit. Authority: UDRP Rules 5; UDRP ¶ 4(k). Note: Paragraph 4(k) gives ten business days after a loss to file in the Mutual Jurisdiction. A buyer is a "domain name registrant" for this purpose under Blair v. Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A., No. 2:22-cv-01439 (D. Ariz. July 14, 2023). Fee awards have gone to buyers both as plaintiffs and as defendants, as in Dent v. Lotto Sport Italia S.p.A., No. 2:17-cv-00651 (D. Ariz. Jan. 25, 2021) and JFXD TRX ACQ LLC v. trx.com, No. 2:23-cv-02330 (D. Ariz. May 8, 2024). See Domain Name Dispute Checklist: A Practical Checklist and, for the court side, Getting Into or Staying Out of Federal Court: A Practical Guide to Jurisdiction and Removal.
• Do not move the name between affiliates without counsel. Authority: Schmidheiny v. Weber, 319 F.3d 581 (3d Cir. 2003); GoPets Ltd. v. Hise, 657 F.3d 1024 (9th Cir. 2011); Prudential Insurance Co. of America v. Shenzhen Stone Network Information Ltd., 58 F.4th 785 (4th Cir. 2023).

Timing at a glance

This checklist is general information and not legal advice for a specific situation.

Related Documents

Related Articles

• Buying a Domain Name From Its Current Owner: Brokers, Escrow, Transfers, and the UDRP Risks You Inherit: the sibling article with the doctrine and the case law behind these tasks.
• Stolen Domain Names: How Domain Hijacking Happens and the Legal Paths to Getting One Back: what a former owner may do if the name was taken.
• How to Conduct a Comprehensive Trademark Clearance Search: how to run Phase 1.
• Fraud on the USPTO: How a False Declaration Can Cost You a Trademark Registration: the declaration risk in Phase 10's trademark filing.
• The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act After Van Buren: Gates, Insiders, Scrapers, and the Loss Requirement: the law behind the no-reset rule in Phase 10.

Related Guides

• Acquiring a Domain Name Anonymously and Safely: A Practical Guide: the sibling guide that explains these steps in sequence.
• Choosing the Right Domain Name Dispute Procedure: A Practical Guide: the alternatives when the answer at Phase 0 is "fight."
• Getting Into or Staying Out of Federal Court: A Practical Guide to Jurisdiction and Removal: forum and jurisdiction if the name ends up in court.

Related Checklists

• Trademark Clearance Search Checklist: A Practical Checklist: Phase 1 in detail.
• Domain Name Security and Recovery Checklist: A Practical Checklist: Phases 9 and 10 in detail.
• Escrow Agreement Review Checklist: Phase 7 in detail.
• Domain Name Dispute Checklist: A Practical Checklist: if a dispute follows.
• Trademark Declaration Accuracy Checklist: A Practical Checklist: signing a trademark application accurately.

Related Toolkits

• Domain Acquisition Toolkit: Outreach Scripts, Purchase Agreements, and Post-Closing Records: the sibling working papers for each phase, including the agreement and run sheet.
• Domain Recovery Toolkit: Registrar Demands, Transfer Dispute Filings, and In Rem Complaints: what you may receive if provenance fails.
• Domain Name Toolkit: UDRP Complaints, ACPA Pleadings, and Portfolio Management: complaint and pleading forms, should the purchase end in a contest.