A Nominet member, a registrar and a registrant have different roles. One person or organisation may occupy several of them, but none should be assumed from another. Your preparation for .UK standardisation depends on what you actually do: own names, operate a registration service, resell a provider's service or maintain its systems.
The roles in ordinary language
| Role | What it describes | What it does not establish by itself |
|---|---|---|
| Nominet member | Membership of Nominet and participation in its membership arrangements | That the member is a registrar, operates EPP or is offering domains for sale |
| Registrar | An organisation authorised to provide registrar services under the registry arrangements | That it owns every domain it manages |
| Registrant | The person or organisation recorded for a domain registration | That it operates a registrar or needs its own technical integration |
| Reseller | A provider working through a registrar's distribution arrangements | A separate direct registry accreditation |
| Technical operator | Someone maintaining systems on behalf of the relevant organisation | Independent authority over every registration those systems can access |
Nominet's membership information describes a membership that includes different industry participants and treats registrar status separately. The future Registry-Registrar Agreement defines registrar relationships, authority and accreditations. These roles are operational and contractual distinctions, not measures of a person's expertise.
TAGs now and accreditations after transition
The current .UK resources distinguish legacy TAG arrangements, including different registrar categories. A TAG is familiar to owners arranging a registrar change under the current process.
Nominet's preparation guidance explains the move from TAG terminology to accreditation terminology. The future FAQ says there will be a single registrar class after standardisation. Read this alongside the change in transfer procedure rather than assuming a customer must memorise a new replacement label for every old step.
A useful inventory identifies the legal entity, its accreditations or TAGs, the services it provides and the staff responsible. A portfolio owner using a third-party provider will normally need a different inventory: names, registrar accounts, renewal arrangements and authorised contacts.
Future membership requirements and exceptions
The scheduled agreement's Schedule 1, paragraph 2.12 requires a registrar to be a Nominet member except where other registry policies provide an exception. The future FAQ identifies a limited exception concerning certain schools and local authorities managing only .sch.uk domains. Read the applicable agreement and policy for an actual case; do not assume that every school, public body or mixed portfolio falls within it.
Membership does not automatically allocate an accreditation or satisfy all registrar obligations. Conversely, being a member does not make someone responsible for a registrar integration they do not operate. Where an organisation intends to remain a registrar, its responsible person should verify membership continuity, contractual requirements and the scope of any claimed exception with Nominet.
The new arrangements remain scheduled at this review. DomainSabre's transition overview explains the effective-date distinction. Nominet's developing governance framework should not be read as permission to postpone duties that apply at transition.
Match the preparation to the role
| Your situation | First useful action | Who should resolve an operational question? |
|---|---|---|
| Own domains through a registrar | Confirm account access, contact accuracy, renewals and the provider's transition communications | Your registrar |
| Are a member without a registrar operation | Follow relevant policy news and identify any separate registrant responsibilities | Nominet for membership; your provider for domain administration |
| Operate a registrar | Assign owners for policy, customer support, portal training and technical work | Your registrar team and Nominet |
| Resell a registrar's services | Review the upstream provider's instructions and your customer-facing messages | The sponsoring registrar and your operational lead |
| Maintain an integration | Map the actual operations, environments, authentication and reconciliation work | The registrar's authorised technical and operational owners |
Owners whose domains are managed directly by Nominet have a specific separate task. Nominet's direct-registrant guidance asks them to choose a registrar and move their names before transition. That is not a general instruction that every .UK registrant must change its existing provider.
Three illustrative situations
Portfolio owner using another registrar
“Owner A” is a fictional company holding several names through a commercial provider. It is not operating a registrar. Its useful checks are account access, expiry dates, contact authority, the retail renewal agreement and support availability. It should not start changing EPP endpoints or uploading certificates on the assumption that every domain owner must perform technical migration work.
Member operating a registrar
“Registrar B” is a fictional member that directly manages its own and customers' domains. It has both membership and operational responsibilities. It assigns a business owner to the new agreements, a support owner to customer instructions and a technical owner to testing. A successful test login does not settle its contract or communication work.
Employee maintaining an integration
“Engineer C” works for that registrar. The engineer records the functions the application uses and verifies them in the correct test environment. Approval of customer terms and membership renewal remains with the responsible business staff. The engineer can supply test evidence without representing it as independent registry certification.
Choose the right next resource
The readiness checklist labels actions by role. Portal users can begin with Dragon and the test environments; integration teams can use the EPP preparation guide. These are independent preparation resources. A self-declared role or membership preference in an email subscription is not verification of a status or entitlement to an offer.