FAQ about domain names

According to the Administrative Measures on Internet Information Services and the Administrative Measures on the Filing of Non-commercial Internet Information Services, the state requires a filing system for non-commercial Internet Information Services and a licensing system for commercial Internet Information Services. You must not provide Internet Information Services without a license or a completed Internet Content Provider (ICP) filing. The Alibaba Cloud ICP Filing system lets you apply for an ICP filing, modify or cancel ICP filing information, and claim ICP filing information.

The Alibaba Cloud ICP Filing Assistant Service is a product that provides online consultation, assisted submission, and management services for ICP filings. This service helps you navigate the filing process efficiently and easily by addressing common issues, such as information overload, unfamiliarity with the procedures, low efficiency, and low application success rates.

A: DNS resolution and ICP filing are not directly related. You can configure DNS records, and they will take effect even if your website has not completed the ICP filing process. However, if your website does not have a valid ICP filing, it cannot be accessed.

If you use a server in the Chinese mainland, you must obtain an ICP filing to make your website accessible. This requirement does not apply if you use a server outside the Chinese mainland or in Hong Kong (China), Macao (China), or Taiwan (China). The following sections describe how different ICP filing statuses affect website access:

• Impact of applying for an ICP filing for the first time

  A website cannot be made public before it receives an ICP filing number. If web services are enabled for a website before its ICP filing is successful, the Alibaba Cloud monitoring system will detect and block access to the website.

• Impact of adding Alibaba Cloud to the ICP filing information as a service provider

  • If you point your domain name resolution to an Alibaba Cloud server in the Chinese mainland before your ICP filing is transferred to Alibaba Cloud, your website will become inaccessible. To avoid this, wait until the ICP filing transfer is complete before you point the domain name resolution to a server in the Chinese mainland. For more information, see Add a DNS record.
  • During the process of adding Alibaba Cloud as a service provider, website access is not affected if the domain name still points to the server of the original service provider and the ICP filing with the communications administration has not been canceled.

• Impact of modifying ICP filing information

  • Modifying entity information does not affect access to your website.
  • Modifying website information:
    • If you modify only information such as the website name or the website administrator, access to your website is not affected.
    • If you delete a domain name from your ICP filing, you can no longer use that domain name to access the website after the communications administration approves the change.

• How service removal affects website access

  Canceling the transfer removes the association between your ICP filing information and Alibaba Cloud. The domain name becomes inaccessible if it resolves to an Alibaba Cloud server. However, your ICP filing number from the MIIT still exists. Contact your current server provider to submit an ICP filing transfer application as soon as possible. According to regulations, if a website has no other service provider after the transfer is canceled, the communications administration may unregister the ICP filing number, which makes the website inaccessible.

• Impact of canceling an ICP filing

  • Unregister an entity:

    This cancels all ICP filing information for the entity with the MIIT. It also cancels all associated Internet Information Services, including websites, apps, miniapps, and Quick Apps. After the cancellation, all domain names under the entity become inaccessible. Domain name suffixes not approved by the MIIT cannot be used for a new ICP filing after cancellation. The use of associated apps, miniapps, and Quick Apps may also be affected.

  • Unregister a website:

    This cancels the ICP filing for a specific website that no longer needs to provide services, while the entity's ICP filing information is retained. After the cancellation, if the domain names of the website are not filed under other Internet Information Services, they become inaccessible. Domain name suffixes not approved by the MIIT cannot be used for a new ICP filing after cancellation. Other websites that are not canceled are not affected.

  Note

  • You cannot cancel an entity's ICP filing and a website's ICP filing at the same time.

  • If all filed websites under an entity are canceled, the communications administration may periodically clear the entity's ICP filing information.

A: Yes, you can. After your domain name is registered, you can log on to the Alibaba Cloud DNS console to configure DNS records. However, even if the DNS records are configured and have taken effect, the website will be inaccessible due to ICP filing requirements.

A: A paused DNS resolution means the domain name has been locked by the registrar or the domain name registry. This is a method used by registrars and registries to disable a domain name.

Common reasons for a lock include the following: incomplete email verification, incomplete identity verification, abuse detected by the registry, or a lock due to disputes or violations.

• If your domain name is not registered with Alibaba Cloud, you can contact your domain name registrar.

• If your domain name is registered with Alibaba Cloud, see Remove the Clienthold and Serverhold lock statuses from a domain name.

A: No, it cannot. A domain name lock (freeze or paused resolution) is a method used by the registrar or registry to disable a domain name. After a domain name is locked, its DNS resolution will not take effect.

A: After a domain name passes identity verification, it typically takes two to three days for DNS resolution to be restored. We recommend that you test the resolution later. If the issue persists, see Remove the Clienthold and Serverhold lock statuses from a domain name.