You want to rebuild your website, change provider, or simply take back control. And you discover that the domain name is not in your name: it belongs to the agency that created it. This situation is far more common than people think, and it blocks everything — you cannot move the site, cannot change host, cannot leave.
It can be resolved. Here is how to check, what to ask for, and what your options are if the agency drags its feet.
First, check who actually owns it
Before any discussion, you need the facts. The public domain name register shows who the registrant is — that is, the legal owner, not whoever pays the invoice or handles the technical side.
For a .fr domain, go to the website of Afnic, the body that manages the French extension, and search for your domain name. For a .com, any "Whois lookup" service gives you the same information.
Three possible outcomes:
- Your company is the registrant. All is well. You are simply missing the login details, which is a minor problem.
- The agency is the registrant. This is the case we are dealing with. The domain is not legally yours, even if you have paid for it for years.
- The details are hidden. Common for individuals. You will have to ask the agency directly.
Also note the expiry date. If it is approaching, the urgency changes: an unrenewed domain is eventually released, and anyone can then buy it.
Why this is a real problem
As long as the domain is not yours, you do not own your address. In practice:
- You cannot change provider without starting from scratch on a new address.
- You lose the search ranking you have built: it took Google months to associate your business with that address.
- Your professional email addresses depend on the same domain.
- In the event of a dispute, or if the agency ceases trading, you have no way to act.
A domain is not a technical detail. It is your business address, and often your company name.
The amicable request: what to write
In the vast majority of cases, a clear request is enough. Many agencies did not register the domain in their own name out of bad faith, but out of convenience at the time of creation.
Ask specifically for these three things:
- The change of registrant to your company, with your exact details.
- The transfer code — called an Auth code, EPP code or authorisation code depending on the registrar. It is the key that allows a domain to be moved.
- Unlocking the domain, which is often locked by default against transfers.
Write by email, stay courteous and factual, and keep a record of everything. Set a reasonable deadline — two weeks. If you hold renewal invoices in your own name, mention it: it is a useful argument.
If the agency does not reply, or refuses
You have options, in this order.
1. A formal notice
A registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, restating the original request. This is often enough on its own: it shows you will not let go, and it stands as evidence if matters escalate.
2. The Syreli procedure, for .fr domains
Afnic offers a dispute resolution procedure called Syreli. It allows you to request the transfer or deletion of a domain without going to court. Budget around two hundred euros and roughly two months.
Your case is all the stronger if the domain uses your company name or your trademark: that is precisely the situation the procedure was designed for. If your company is called Dupont & Sons and the domain is dupont-and-sons.fr, you start with a solid argument.
3. A lawyer
For deadlocked cases, or when the stakes go beyond the domain alone. Keep this for situations where the loss is real and quantifiable.
Plan B: change address
This is not a defeat, and it is sometimes the better decision. The real question is: what do you actually lose?
If your current site gets almost no visits from Google, if your customers come by word of mouth and find you by name, then changing address costs you next to nothing. You pick a variant — dupontandsons.fr instead of dupont-and-sons.fr, or a .com — and you start again cleanly, as the registrant this time.
If on the other hand your site ranks well and brings in regular enquiries, the domain is worth the fight.
Either way, the decision comes down to numbers. A look at your visitor statistics settles the question in ten minutes.
How to make sure it does not happen again
One rule, and it costs nothing: the domain must be registered in your company's name, on an account that belongs to you.
Your provider can manage it, renew it, configure it — that is even preferable. But the registrant is you. A serious provider will have no objection: it is the normal way to work.
Three habits, whether you are creating a site or taking one over:
- Check the registrant in the public register once the domain has been created.
- Ask for access to the account, even if you never intend to use it.
- Note the expiry date in your calendar, with a reminder a month before.
In short
A domain held by an agency is not a dead end. Check the registrant in the public register, request the change of registrant and the transfer code in writing, then move to a formal notice and Syreli if needed. And if the search ranking you have built is weak, changing address solves the problem in a few days.
What matters is checking now, rather than at the moment you want to leave.