What is a Registry?

A registry is a company or organization that maintains a centralized registry database for the Top-Level Domains. Currently there is only one Registry for every Top-Level domain, .com, .net and .org. NSI Registry maintains this Registry.

 

What is a Registrar?

A registrar is an ICANN accredited company or organization that is authorized to provide registration services for the top-level domains such as .com, .org and .net. Registrars have contractual agreements with their customers. A Registrar submits all newly registered domains into the Registry.

 

What is a Registrant?

The Registrant is the owner of a Domain Name. The owner may be an individual or an organization to whom a specific Domain Name is registered.

When a Registrant registers a Domain Name and enters a contractual agreement with the Registrar, they are the legal owner of a domain name for a specific period of time. The Registrant is bound by the terms of the service agreement.
For example, Divyesh Patel (Registrant) registers the name ‘divyeshpatel.com’ through the Registrar who in turn writes the name to the central database (NSI Registry).