Namecheap Court Order & Subpoena Policy
Namecheap is a strong advocate for privacy. As such, and per our Privacy Policy, we cannot and will not share customer or account information except under limited circumstances when required by law or legal process properly served on Namecheap or one of our affiliates.
Namecheap reserves the sole right to determine the laws that it is subject to and whether it has been properly served.
Nothing in this Policy shall create third party rights or contractual obligations between Namecheap, its customers and/or third parties.
1. Submission of Subpoenas and Court Orders - In General
When seeking customer information, you may mail or serve Namecheap with a valid subpoena or Court Order as follows:
Service by Mail
Namecheap Legal Department
4600 East Washington Street
Suite 300
Phoenix, AZ 85034
Namecheap may, at its sole discretion, accept service by email. Namecheap is subject to US law and, in its sole discretion, determines whether it may be subject to other non-US jurisdictions.
Email
Legal@namecheap.com
2. Criminal Subpoenas and Court Orders
If you seek the identity or account information of a Namecheap customer in connection with a criminal matter, and you are a member of the law enforcement community, you must mail to or serve Namecheap, Inc. with a valid U.S. subpoena.
Background Documentation
Namecheap reserves the right to request a copy of the complaint and any supporting documentation that demonstrates how our customer information is related to the pending litigation and the underlying subpoena.
Notice to Customer and Response Time
Upon the receipt of a valid criminal subpoena, unless the circumstances or subpoena warrant otherwise, Namecheap may promptly notify the customer whose information is sought via email or U.S. mail or may provide confirmation of a criminal subpoena if questioned by a customer.
You must provide a Non-Disclosure Order if you do not want the customer to be aware of the subpoena and/or court order’s existence.
Policy Regarding Email
Namecheap complies with the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 U.S.C. §2701 et seq., which prohibits an electronic communications service provider from producing the contents of electronic communications, even pursuant to subpoena or court order, other than in limited circumstances. Therefore, except as required by an order in accordance with this Act, Namecheap will not produce the content of email or other electronic communications. Whether or not Namecheap gives its customer advance notice of any such disclosure will be governed by the terms of the order.
Fees for Subpoena Compliance
Namecheap reserves the right to charge the person or entity submitting the criminal subpoena for costs associated with subpoena compliance whenever the government agency and/or the nature of the request permits. Payment must be made within thirty (30) days from the date of receipt of the invoice. Checks should be made out to Namecheap, Inc. Namecheap reserves the right to require payment prior to the release of the documentation requested.
Namecheap’s criminal subpoena compliance costs are as follows:
- Research – hourly rate varies per the complexity of the information request and/or management involvement in providing the subpoenaed information
- Federal Express - Cost as Billed
- Copies - $.50/page
India: If you are law enforcement or a government agency in India and are seeking information pursuant to a valid criminal subpoena or court order, you must serve such documents through our dedicated Grievance Officer email channel: GrievanceOfficer@Namecheap.com.
EU/EEA: Namecheap If you are law enforcement or a government agency in the EU/EEA, Namecheap voluntarily complies with the Digital Services Act (DSA) and accepts compliant submissions pursuant to the DSA’s Order to Act (Article 9) or Order to Provide Information (Article 10). As an entity that does not have an establishment in the Union, we voluntarily have appointed an Article 13 Legal Representative. This appointment does not, as outlined by the DSA, otherwise establish a legal presence in the EU/EEA and/or any member country. Namecheap may or may not be deemed to “offer services” within the EU, as determined by applicable law.
A compliant DSA Order may be submitted to EDSR, our appointed Article 13 Legal Representative, as follows:
Email: dsa@edsr.eu
Writing: EDSR at Avenue Huart Hamoir 71, 1030 Brussels, Belgium
Phone: +32 2 216 19 71
3. Civil Court Orders + Subpoenas
If you seek the identity or account information of a Namecheap customer in connection with a civil legal matter, you must mail to or serve Namecheap, Inc. with a valid subpoena. Valid subpoenas are those issued by (a) any U.S. federal court or (b) the courts of the State of Arizona, or any other State in which Namecheap has qualified to do business. Namecheap may waive the requirement and respond to a subpoena issued by a state or local court located outside of Arizona State, or any other State in which we are qualified to do business, in limited circumstances and at its discretion. Namecheap, in general, will not respond to subpoenas, or analogous discovery mechanisms, issued by courts outside of the U.S. due to the inherent difficulties in validation. Nonetheless, Namecheap reserves the right to determine whether compliance, voluntary or per legal requirement, is warranted for any non-US jurisdiction.
Background Documentation
Namecheap reserves the right to request a copy of the complaint and any supporting documentation that demonstrates how the customer information is related to the pending litigation and the underlying subpoena.
Fees for Subpoena Compliance
Namecheap will charge the person or entity submitting the civil subpoena for costs associated with subpoena compliance. Payment must be made within thirty (30) days from the date of receipt of the invoice. Checks should be made out to Namecheap, Inc. Namecheap reserves the right to require payment prior to the release of the documentation requested.
Namecheap’s civil subpoena compliance costs are as follows:
- Research - $150.00/hour
- Federal Express - Cost as Billed
- Copies - $.50/page
India: All notices of civil suits against Namecheap customers, requests for information, submission of court issued subpoenas or court orders must be submitted pursuant to India’s required Grievance Officer notification channel: GrievanceOfficer@Namecheap.com.
EU/EEA: Namecheap does not have an establishment, as defined by EU/EEA applicable law, in any Member Country. However, Namecheap does voluntarily comply with the DSA. If you have a DSA compliant court order, you may submit it to us via our DSA designated channels. DSANotice@Namecheap.com (for court orders that may be related to mere conduit services and/or hosted content) and/or to our Notice & Action Mechanism (where the court order specifically relates to hosted content.) Our Notice & Action Mechanism information may be found here.
4. Additional FAQs
A. UDRP COMPLAINTS & PROCEEDINGS
Namecheap is compliant with the UDRP guidelines set forth by ICANN. Should you file a UDRP related claim, you may submit a copy of the filed claim using the methods described herein to provide Namecheap with notice of a domain name dispute with one of our customers.
B. NON-U.S. COURT ORDERS & SUBPOENAS
Namecheap requires that, unless governed by ICANN regulations or other treaties/Acts to which we may be subject, all court orders and/or subpoenas must be issued by a U.S. court or law enforcement entity. Namecheap, in its sole discretion, may also comply with reporting regulations by other countries and/or comply with court orders and subpoenas issued by a non-US court.
C. REQUEST FOR REGISTRANT INFORMATION OF DOMAINS
Namecheap complies with ICANN guidelines, Registry rules for non-ICANN governed domains and privacy regulations. All requests for domain registrant information will be evaluated accordingly. In particular, where governed by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and/or ICANN, Namecheap applies the “balancing test” set forth in Article 6(1)(f) GDPR.
D. CUSTOMERS PROTECTED BY WITHHELD FOR PRIVACY
Withheld for Privacy is a third party privacy service engaged by Namecheap to comply with global privacy regulations, such as the GDPR, that prohibit the public disclosure of personal information. Withheld for Privacy contracts directly with Namecheap for the provision of anonymized email technology and use of its contact information. Withheld for Privacy is not provided with customer information, including registrant information. Any requests for registrant information must be directed to Namecheap as Withheld for Privacy does not have access to such information.
E. DO I NEED TO NAME NAMECHEAP AND/OR WITHHELD FOR PRIVACY IN THE LEGAL ACTION
No, you do not need to name Namecheap or Withheld for Privacy in a legal action.
Please note that Withheld for Privacy is a third party provider and separate entity from Namecheap. Withheld for Privacy is a private registration service that is wholly-based in Iceland. It provides privacy services only. This means that it has no control over the domain name, website content and/or other services provided to the customer through Namecheap. Moreover, based on its design, it does receive nor does it have access to a domain registrant’s information.
F. ACCURACY OF CUSTOMER INFORMATION REQUIRED
While Namecheap does not require that you list the name of a customer who is protected by Withheld for Privacy in a court order or subpoena, we do require that any details which are set forth in a subpoena or court order must be accurate and specifically identify a customer. This means that, when you have a customer name, it must be the correct customer name associated with a domain or account for us to be able to take action pursuant to the court order/subpoena. It also means that the identifiers must be sufficient to identify a single Namecheap customer. For this reason, please do not use an IP address as a sole identifier.
G. BANKRUPTCY & RECEIVERSHIPS
If a domain and/or website is subject to a bankruptcy proceeding or receivership, it is important to give Namecheap notice as soon as possible. Bankruptcy and Receivership Orders must be issued in English and be able to be validated as authentic by Namecheap. Namecheap reserves the right to refuse action if the orders are outside of the U.S. and unable to be validated to our satisfaction. Orders must list individually any domain(s) and/or website(s) that are to be separated from other assets and it must state that the Trustee or Receiver has the authority to manage and sell them.
H. SETTLEMENTS & DOMAIN TRANSFERS
In general, customers may privately settle a dispute over a domain/website without Namecheap’s involvement. A transfer of ownership of such domain/website may be affected by the controlling party through their account panel.
In limited and rare circumstances, parties may request Namecheap’s assistance in effecting a transfer to a new owner under a settlement agreement. If you are seeking our help, at a minimum we will require a copy of the legal settlement agreement which must:
- Involve litigation;
- Have notarized signatures from both parties;
- Specify the affected domain name(s); and
- Include a statement that the litigation will be dismissed with prejudice.
Further, Namecheap reserves the right to require an indemnification agreement from one or more parties.
Please Note: Namecheap will not resolve disputes with third parties over ownership of a domain and/or account. Unless special circumstances exist, which are determined in our sole discretion, such disputes must be resolved by the proper forum such as a court of law.
5. General
Reservation of Rights
Notwithstanding any of the above, Namecheap reserves the right to challenge the validity of any subpoena or court order or otherwise move to quash or take such other action to secure an order from the relevant court that Namecheap is not required to respond to the subpoena or court order.
Modification
Namecheap reserves the right to modify this policy at any time in its sole and absolute discretion. Such modifications are effective immediately upon posting to this site.
Further Questions & Contact Information
If you have any questions about how Namecheap deals with subpoenas, court orders or other legal process, please contact us by email or regular mail at the following address:
Namecheap Legal Department
4600 East Washington Street
Suite 300
Phoenix, AZ 85034
legal@namecheap.com
Last revised: April, 23 2026