20250117 - DCV email - WHOIS query definitively abandoned

We told you about it a few weeks ago, the deprecation of WHOIS query has finally been voted by the CA/B Forum.

The consequences

This vote has 2 objectives:

• prohibit the use of email addresses registered in WHOIS during DCV validation
  
• prohibit the reuse of domain validation if the latter was based on a DCV email that used a WHOIS email address

The authorities' calendar

Each authority has set up its own calendar to comply with the new recommendations of the CA/B Forum.

Please note: There are several ways to consult WHOIS information to collect data:

• automatically via the WHOIS protocol
  
• manually via a WHOIS web search when the first method does not yield anything

Here is the calendar indicating the deadlines for each authority and each type of consultation:

* Sectigo has stopped using manual search since 2021.
** DCV pre-validation does not exist at Sectigo. The DCV challenge must be re-validated for each new request (new order, renewal or reissuance).
*** We do not have a calendar for GlobalSign, so we indicate here the dates planned by the CA/B Forum.

Useful Links

• Sectigo Communication
• DigiCert Communication
• CA/B Forum Ballot

• General questions before ordering