The ICANN board of directors approved the new Registrar Accreditation Agreement, ICANN announced today (28 June). ICANN expects the new agreement to bring continued improvements to the domain name ecosystem.

The agreement follows more than a year of negotiations between ICANN and its Registrar Stakeholders Group and represents marked improvements over the last RAA approved in 2009.

"In no small way this agreement is transformational for the domain name industry," said Akram Atallah, President of ICANN's Generic Domains Division, in a statement. "Our multiple stakeholders weighed in, from law enforcement, to business, to consumers and what we have ended up with is something that affords better protections and positively redefines the domain name industry."

Achievements touted by ICANN in the RAA are:

establishment of a registrar point-of-contact for reporting abuse.

verification and validation of WHOIS (domain registrant) data.

clear establishment of registrar responsibility for reseller compliance.

enhanced compliance tools that include broader suspension and termination tools, clarification of audit rights, access to information to facilitate ongoing investigations and annual certification requirements.

"On behalf of the Registrar Stakeholder Group and all ICANN accredited registrars, I am pleased the ICANN Board approved the 2013 Registrar Accreditation Agreement, after all of the hard work put in by all parties," said Matt Serlin, VP, Domain Management, MarkMonitor, Inc, in the ICANN statement. "We will now work on implementation of the numerous new requirements in the 2013 RAA and we hope to continue the interaction with ICANN staff and the broader community in the future, as registrars roll out these changes."