OTE Test Environment
{session.loggedInUser | ternary session.loggedInUser.fullName ''}
{session.loggedInUser | ternary session.loggedInUser.email ''}

Sign out

Terms menu

Reporting Abuse Guidelines

Effective from 11 March 2020. (View previous versions).

This page is addressed to members of the public, rather than our Resellers.

If you are the registrant of a domain name for which Netistrar is the official registrar of record, your reseller should always be your first port of call in cases of abuse (except for illegal images – go straight to law enforcement or the Internet Watch Foundation). Your Reseller will be able to resolve many of the issues, and may also provide additional services, so will be able to act quickly. If you are unsatisfied with the response from your reseller, or if you don’t know what to do, please read this guidance and contact the relevant address.

There are different types of abuse, and this page has some advice on the best resources to report.

1. Infringement of intellectual property rights.

If you believe that a domain name or its use infringes against intellectual property rights, please contact your reseller or domain name agent. Netistrar, as an accredited Registrar offers support to Registrants where they are unable to obtain help from their own reseller/domain name agent. If you encounter difficulty please contact your reseller first, as they will be able to resolve most issues directly with you. If you are unable to reach your reseller, or if your initial interaction with your reseller has not resolved the issue, please contact [email protected]. You should also contact this address if you would like to request us to reveal the underlying registrant data behind a privacy/proxy WHOIS registration. You will need to provide the reasons why you are requesting the data, for example that you wish to contact the registrant to make a complaint under a dispute resolution process.

There are various forms of alternative dispute resolution for domain names, including the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Process, which affects .com and other generic Top Level Domains. For .uk domains, the relevant service is Nominet’s Dispute Resolution Service. If you would like further information about making or defending a domain name dispute, you can get further advice by contacting .

2. Illegal (criminal) content, including images of child abuse.

Some images are illegal even for people to download. If you believe that you have come across illegal images, for example images of child abuse, you should report it through the Internet Watch Foundation’s dedicated hotline. They have specially trained staff who can identify illegal content, and if necessary contact the relevant provider with a formal notice for them to take down the content.

3. Technical abuse

If you believe that you believe that a domain name for which Netistrar is the official registrar of record is involved in hacking, a distributed denial of service attack, spam, or other activity which may compromise the network, please report to [email protected].

During UK office hours, ie 9 am to 5pm Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays) you should call +44 (0)330 2233927 and leave a message for our legal representatives (choose this option). Out of office hours, we have an ‘out of office hours’ service which is monitored regularly. We aim to respond to all reported abuse within 24 hours.

Top