Overview

Any change to the registrant’s name, organization, or email address, as defined by ICANN’s Transfer Policy, will lock the domain for 60 days and send notification emails to the old and new registrants informing them of the change.

For further information, please see the following article:

Transfer Policy of ICANN

The Registrant must verify any new Generic Top Level Domain (gTLD) registrations or contact modifications (WHOIS update for First Name, Last Name, Email Address, called “Contact data”). This is an ICANN policy, not a GreggHost verification policy.
Who is ICANN?
Who is the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)?
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is a non-profit organization that oversees the global domain name system on the Internet. In order to remain compliant, ICANN needs GreggHost to implement this verification policy. More information on ICANN can be found at the following link:

ICANN

Why do I have to do this?

This is the most extensive set of revisions in the RAA policy, as mandated by ICANN. This is required of all registrars who have signed the most recent RAA agreement.

What is a gTLD?

Popular domains such as.com,.net,.info, and.org are examples of generic top level domains (gTLDs). For these domains, the verification policy is necessary. More information on a gTLD can be found at the following link:

Top-Level Domain (gTLD) (gTLD)

Receiving the email confirmation

Unless you opt-out, ICANN freezes your domain for 60 days when you make any changes to your WHOIS information.

When you update your WHOIS information, you will receive two or more emails informing you of the change.

As the WHOIS contact address, do not provide an email address associated with your domain. Do not use an address on the same domain, such as [email protected], if your domain is example.com.

This email is sent to the WHOIS contact email address you provided in the WHOIS information for your registration. Instructions for viewing and updating this information in the panel can be found in the following article.

Overview of WHOIS
[email protected] sends the first email:

Verification email from ICANN
[email protected] is the sender of the second message.

Verification email from ICANN
A third email is sent to the new email address if the WHOIS contact email is changed:

Verification email from ICANN
If you haven’t validated your contact information before, you must do it within 15 calendar days after the domain’s registration/Contact Modification by clicking the link in the email. This email is sent four times throughout those 15 days (Day 1, 5, 10, and 15) until the Registrant confirms it. If the Registrant does not validate the ‘Contact Info’ by the 16th day, the Domain will be suspended and a final email will be issued to the Registrant.

This procedure is depicted in the flowchart below:
Flowchart of the Verification Process

Other info about the verification process

[email protected] sends the verification emails.
Once a contact has been validated, subsequent registrations are not need to be verified (as long as the ‘Contact Info’ remains the same).

Resend the verification email

If you need the verification email resent, please contact support. Support can resend the email from the registrar if necessary.

This email can only be resent to the WHOIS contact email address you provided in the WHOIS information for your registration. Instructions for updating this information in the panel can be found in the following article.

Overview of WHOIS
Domains that have been suspended
When my account is suspended, what happens next?
When a domain is suspended, the DNS is taken over in accordance with ICANN regulation, and a page is placed on your site explaining that the domain has not been validated, along with instructions for the owner to do so. Below is an example of a suspended page.
When a website goes down, it stays down indefinitely until the Registrant confirms the domain. No more emails will be sent until the customer responds.
Domains that have been suspended can be renewed and transferred.
Before proceeding with a renewal or transfer, GreggHost strongly advises un-suspending and resolving any difficulties with an account.

In that scenario, the site service will not function, and
Because the transfer approval emails are sent to an inactive mail user when a domain name is suspended owing to an invalid contact, you won’t be able to authorize the transfer of a suspended domain name.
The following is an example of a suspended/unverified page (click the thumbnail image to enlarge):
Suspensionpage-notverified.png

After verification

When a suspended domain is validated, the Verified status is displayed on the suspended page. Before the site is restored, DNS updates may take up to 48 hours to propagate.
The following is an example of a suspended/verified page (click the thumbnail image to enlarge):