WHOIS Contacts
WHOIS contacts identify the domain holder and the persons administratively and technically responsible.
Currently, the HostMyServers module only allows management of the owner contact. Administrative, technical and billing contacts cannot yet be modified from WHMCS.
Contact Types
| Type | Role | Available |
|---|---|---|
| Owner | Legal owner of the domain. Can be an individual or a legal entity. | ✅ |
| Administrative (Admin) | Contact for administrative matters relating to the domain. | 🚧 Coming soon |
| Technical (Tech) | Contact for technical matters (DNS, hosting). | 🚧 Coming soon |
| Billing | Contact for billing matters with the registrar. | 🚧 Coming soon |
Modifying Contacts from the Client Area
The client can update their WHOIS contacts from:
Client Area → My Domains → domain → WHOIS Information tab
They can modify each field (last name, first name, company, address, phone, email) and save. The update is transmitted in real time to the HostMyServers API.
Modifying Contacts from the Back Office
As an administrator:
Clients → client → Domains tab → domain → WHOIS Information tab
Modify the desired fields and click Save.
Registrant Change (Transfer of Ownership)
A change of registrant (Trade) is a distinct operation from a simple WHOIS update. Some registries (notably ICANN TLDs) apply specific verifications or even a 60-day delay when changing the registrant.
To perform a registrant change:
- From the domain record in WHMCS, click Change Registrant
- Fill in the new registrant information
- Confirm the operation
Following a registrant change on ICANN TLDs (.com, .net, .org…), the domain is automatically locked against transfer for 60 days. Inform your clients of this constraint.
WHOIS Protection and Displayed Data
Depending on the TLD and WHOIS protection activation:
- TLDs with available protection (e.g.
.com): if protection is enabled, personal data is hidden in the public WHOIS database and replaced by the privacy service's contact details - European TLDs (e.g.
.fr,.eu,.de): GDPR already imposes partial masking of personal data, regardless of paid protection - Companies: legal entity data generally remains visible even with protection enabled
Required Fields by TLD
Some TLDs require additional information in contacts. For example:
| TLD | Specific field |
|---|---|
.fr | Contact type (Individual / Company / Association / Public authority) |
.eu | Country of residence (must be an EU country) |
.it | Tax code (Codice Fiscale) or VAT number |
.de | No specific field but strict data validation |
These fields are natively managed by the module and automatically appear in WHMCS during registration or contact modification.
Data Validation
The module validates data on the client side before sending to the API:
- Phone number format must conform to the international standard (e.g.
+33.612345678) - Email must be valid
- Postal address must be complete (street, city, postcode, country)
If validation fails, WHMCS displays an error message specifying the field concerned.