Trustee agreement: terms to review

Administrator and instructions

Start with the names. Who is the administrator of record once the change goes through, and which people on your side are allowed to give instructions about the domain? Then the channels: how a DNS change is requested, how a renewal is authorised, and what makes an instruction valid rather than an email from somebody who used to work with you.

Write down the tie-breaker too. When two requests contradict each other, the agreement should say which one wins. Leaving that to whoever picks up the ticket is how a weekend gets ruined.

Fees, exit and disputes

The commercial half. It is also the half people skim.

• Term and renewal charges: what falls due, when, and at what price in later years.
• Third-party fees passed on to you, and who decides to incur them.
• Termination: what either side must do to end the arrangement, and on what notice.
• Transfer to an eligible administrator. This clause is your way out. Read it twice.
• Sanctions or payment constraints, which can block a renewal even when nobody disagrees.
• Escalation: who you reach when the usual channel goes quiet, and how quickly.

Settle the exit route before you sign. Afterwards you are asking rather than negotiating, because the record has already moved. Request the full agreement before you order; a summary is a poor thing to rely on with a renewal date a week away.