And if Freenom had worked, it would have required a phone number anyway.
All domain registrations always require an address and phone number, because that’s necessary for the contact details of the domain name.
If a provider doesn’t ask for those details, it’s simply impossible for them to give you the domain name. At best, they can let you use the domain without actually owning it. And that’s probably against registration regulations.
That said, those details are typically only used for the registration details, and typically very little verification is done to ensure the details are correct.
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I don’t really like free subdomains as when trying to look up anything related to my website (not google search results though) it goes for the parent domain instead of the subdomain.
Make sure you didn’t select the proxy or anything like that
It wasn’t just the total order that wasn’t free, it was actually the domain name that was listed as 12 pounds per year,
Checking again, something weird is happening with that website. When I just search the domain and go through the order process from there, the domain is not free. But when I then go back to the main page, and then go to the cart, the domain is free.
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I think the reason why might be that a phone number and address is required for WHOIS. If there is no phone number and address, the WHOIS information is incomplete.
Yes, that’s what I said:
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So this means that I just cannot get a free domain name without needing a phone number or it being a subdomain?
Yes, that’s correct.
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Next time I find a site that thinks that it’s offering them, I will make sure that the words are not sprlled lke tahs (spelled like this) because on the (I won’t share).cc website there were typos like domain being spelt as “damain” and Canada being spelt as “Canda”
A phone number is necessary in the sense that you have to input a phone number.
However only some of them actually try to verify your phone number. For the others, even if you input a random phone number they wouldn’t really check. It’s just for emergency contact purposes.
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But you should still enter a number that you have access to, on the chance that they do check it.
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Of course! If you have one you should use it.
But for most registrars, the chances of them verifying it are extremely low, unless it’s for 2FA. If they wanted to contact you in an emergency, their first method of communication would usually be email.
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Registrars generally aren’t required to verify phone numbers so they usually don’t care what you enter as long as it looks like a phone number. Registries on the other hand do something do their own verification. But the cases I’ve seen mainly care about verifying the person or company registering it, not the specific contact details.
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Does that mean that I can enter a completely fake phone number and be able to do it?
It depends which registrar, but for the many of them you can. I suggest you do your research on it.
As @Greenreader9 said, there is a small chance they ask you to verify your number (although I’ve personally never come across them asking me for it), so remember it does come with a small risk.
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Does this also apply to the address?
To an extent, but unlike the phone number the address must be a legitimate mailing address. Many registrars use an automated system to check if an address is valid or not. For those free ones who require an address and phone number for verification, you’ll definitely want to use your real information or you probably won’t get the domain name. Even if you are paying for it, it’s best to use your real information anyway. If any issues arise the registrar (or possibly even the registry) will need a real way to contact you.
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Please remember that you are always required to provide valid address and phone number information. The information isn’t checked a lot, but if they do check it and it turns out the information is fake, you risk getting your domain taken away because you’re violating the registration agreement.
Depending on the domain extension, you may be able to control whether the information is shared through public WHOIS, or only used for the internal registration at the registry.
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