updateProhibited domain status
updateProhibited locks the domain record: name server changes, contact edits and other updates are rejected, except one that removes the lock itself. The client variant is anti-tamper hygiene; the server variant usually means a dispute or registry lock.
Updated
- Set by
- Registrar (client) or registry (server)
- Effect
- Updates to the domain record are rejected
- RDAP shows
- client update prohibited / server update prohibited
What clientUpdateProhibited / serverUpdateProhibited means
Per RFC 5731, requests to update the object, other than to remove this status, must be rejected while the status is set. That covers name server changes, contact edits and most other record modifications. clientUpdateProhibited is the registrar-set version, used to prevent unauthorized changes from fraud or hijacking.
serverUpdateProhibited is set by the registry. ICANN lists it as uncommon, usually enacted during legal disputes, at the registrant’s request, or while a redemptionPeriod is in place. It is also a standard component of paid Registry Lock services.
On a domain you are watching
On a lookalike, the client variant is ordinary protection the same way a transfer lock is. serverUpdateProhibited matters more: it freezes the record at registry level, which fits a dispute in progress or a registry lock, and it also keeps an operator under scrutiny from quietly re-delegating the name.
Check a domain’s status codes
The lookup reads a domain’s live RDAP record and returns its current status set.
What to do about clientUpdateProhibited / serverUpdateProhibited
The registrant asks the registrar to lift the client code. The server code goes through the registrar to the registry and takes longer to remove.
Sources
Frequently asked questions
No. The domain keeps resolving with its existing delegation; only changes to the record are rejected. A domain that should not resolve carries clientHold or serverHold instead.
Not while the code is active, since a name server change is an update. Ask the registrar to lift the client variant; the server variant requires the registry to clear it through the registrar.
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