Share Domain Registrar Access Safely (No Main-Login Handovers)

Why you should never share the main registrar login

Shared passwords erase accountability and make offboarding painful. A registrar account also controls DNS, transfers, and billing—one mistake can take your site offline. Use delegation and roles instead.

Safe access pattern (works across registrars)

• Invite users with the least privilege needed (DNS only, no transfer/billing).
• Require MFA on all accounts involved.
• Turn on registry/transfer lock for critical domains.
• Verify any change to name servers or contact info via a quick phone call.

Step-by-step

1. Add a delegated user (or member) with DNS-only permissions.
2. Share any one-off credentials (rare) via a one-time, expiring link and send the access code by a different channel. How-to: The Safe Way to Share Passwords in 2025 (No Email).
3. Verify invites and links before clicking. Quick checks: Verify Links Like a Pro.
4. Offboard cleanly: remove users when the work ends and rotate any secrets they touched. Checklist: Employee Offboarding.

Operational hygiene

• Separate roles for DNS vs. billing/ownership.
• Keep WHOIS contacts current; use an email you control long-term.
• Back up DNS (export zone) before big edits.

Useful external references

• Cloudflare: Add account members & roles 🔗
• GoDaddy: Delegate access 🔗
• Namecheap: Grant account access 🔗
• ICANN: Transfer Policy 🔗

Related reading

Client onboarding without shared logins: Secure Client Onboarding (Checklist)

Incident response if something changes unexpectedly: The Simple Incident Playbook for Leaked Passwords

Policy you can copy/paste: Secret-Sharing Policy

Bottom line

Delegate access, lock transfers, verify changes, and offboard cleanly. Your main registrar login should never leave your hands.

Secure One-Time Messages - Send confidential messages that self-destruct after being read once. Your privacy is our priority. →.