Frequently Asked Questions

DomainEscrow.com is a domain name escrow and transfer service operated by JJN Solutions Law, PLLC, a licensed law firm. We act as a neutral third party between a buyer and a seller: we take custody of the domain names — and, under our Escrow Service, the money as well — until both sides have done what they agreed to do, then we complete the exchange.

We handle domain name transactions only. We are not a general-purpose escrow service.

Domain transactions have a structural trust problem: whoever moves first is exposed. If the buyer pays first, the seller may not transfer. If the seller transfers first, the buyer may not pay. Neither party wants to go first.

An escrow agent removes that problem. The money sits with a neutral party who releases it only when the domain has demonstrably changed hands.

Both put the domain names into our custody. The difference is whether we hold the money as well.

Under the Standard Service the seller is paid directly by the buyer and confirms receipt to us; we then release the domain. We never touch those funds.

Full details: Standard Service · Escrow Service

Both services take the domain out of the seller’s control before the buyer pays, so under either one the buyer is protected against paying for a domain that never arrives.

The Standard Service is usually sufficient, and costs less, where the two sides are content to settle payment directly between themselves — they know each other, or the amount is modest, or the seller is comfortable confirming receipt.

Choose the Escrow Service when you want the money secured on the same terms as the domain: the buyer’s funds sit in our attorney trust account and are not released to the seller until the domain has reached the buyer and the verification period has closed.

If you’re unsure, call us before initiating. We’ll tell you honestly which one fits.

No. There is no minimum transaction amount for any service or transaction type.

Minimum fees do apply, however — $350 for the Standard Service and $600 for the Escrow Service. On a small transaction the fee will therefore represent a larger percentage of the total. Our cost to run a $2,000 transaction is very nearly the same as a $50,000 one: the same agreement, the same trust accounting, the same verification steps.

Yes. We accept international bank wires, and foreign sellers can provide a W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E in place of a W-9 for tax reporting purposes.

All transactions are denominated in U.S. dollars and governed by the laws of the District of Columbia.

We work on transactions seven days a week.

• Monday to Friday: 24 hours a day
• Saturday and Sunday: 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM Pacific

Domain transactions do not keep office hours. Registrars lock names at inconvenient moments, wires land on Friday evenings, and a buyer who has just sent six figures should not have to wait until Monday to be told it arrived. If something needs attention on a Sunday morning, it gets attention on a Sunday morning.

For anything urgent, call 888-897-0886 rather than emailing.

• Outright purchase — buyer pays once, domain transfers, done.
• Lease-to-own — buyer pays monthly toward ownership, with the domain transferring once all payments are made.
• Straight lease — lessee rents use of the domain for a term, with no ownership transferring at any point.

Standard Service

Escrow Service

Use the fee calculator for an exact figure on your transaction.

Whoever the parties agree. You record this when you initiate the transaction, and it is written into your agreement.

• Buyer pays — the fee is added to the purchase price, so the buyer deposits price plus fee.
• Seller pays — the fee is deducted from the seller’s payout.
• Split 50/50 — half each, handled both ways.
• Broker pays — deducted from the broker’s commission.

The fee calculator will show you what each party pays or nets under any of these arrangements.

Yes — fees charged by the financial institutions that move the money. These are in addition to the service fee and are paid by whoever is sending the funds.

Only if you choose a wire. These are deducted from the amount we send you.

These are separate from the fees for paying money into escrow, which the buyer bears.

• Bank wire transfer, domestic and international
• ACH
• Debit and credit card
• Cryptocurrency — only where the seller expressly agrees to accept it and the buyer pays in the same cryptocurrency

Yes. Cards carry a processing fee of 2.9% of the transaction amount, or 3.75% for American Express, paid by whoever is sending the funds.

On anything sizeable a wire will cost you far less — 2.9% of $100,000 is $2,900 against $20 by wire. Cards are most sensible on smaller transactions where the convenience is worth the cost.

No. Once paid, escrow fees are non-refundable, including where a transaction is later canceled by agreement of the parties.

The one exception is where we cancel the transaction because of our own error, in which case fees are returned.

It’s an accurate estimate based on our published schedule, and in the great majority of cases it is exactly what you’ll pay. We verify the figure by hand when your transaction comes in, and if anything differs we tell you before you commit to anything.

1. A party initiates. Buyer, seller, or broker submits the transaction terms through our website.
2. Everyone is notified. All parties receive an email with the full terms and are asked to reply confirming they agree.
3. The agreement is issued. Once both sides confirm, we send the Domain Transfer & Escrow Agreement for electronic signature, along with a list of what we need from each party.
4. We take custody of the domain. The seller transfers the domain into a registrar account we control. Under the Escrow Service the buyer also deposits the funds into our attorney trust account at this stage. We confirm in writing, to everyone, what we are holding.
5. The buyer pays. Under the Standard Service the buyer pays the seller directly on the terms in the agreement, and the seller confirms receipt to us in writing. Under the Escrow Service the funds are already with us and no further payment step is needed.
6. The domain moves to the buyer. Once payment is confirmed, we transfer the domain out of our account and into the buyer’s.
7. Verification period. The buyer has 3 business days to confirm they have full administrative control.
8. Funds are released. Under the Escrow Service, the next business day after the verification period closes, the seller and broker are paid from our trust account. Under the Standard Service the seller has already been paid, and the transaction simply closes.

For a cooperative outright purchase, typically one to two weeks end to end. The variable parts are how quickly parties confirm terms and sign, how quickly the buyer wires funds, and how quickly the registrar processes the transfer.

The fixed parts are: the seller has 3 business days to unlock and release the domain into our custody after signing, the buyer has 5 business days to fund, the verification period is 3 business days, and — under the Escrow Service — payout is the next business day after that.

Registrar-side transfers between different registrars can add several days that are outside anyone’s control.

After the domain has been transferred, the buyer gets 3 business days to verify three things: that the domain is in their registrar account, that they have full administrative control of it, and that it matches what the seller described.

If the buyer raises no written objection before the period expires, the transfer is deemed accepted and funds release. The buyer can also confirm acceptance in writing to close it out early.

The verification period cannot be extended without written consent from all parties and from us.

The next business day after the verification period closes without objection, or the next business day after the buyer confirms acceptance in writing — whichever comes first.

Brokers are paid at the same time as sellers.

Not until we tell you to. Do not unlock the domain or release the EPP/authorization code when you first hear from us.

We request it only after the agreement has been signed by every party, and we will always ask in writing. From the moment we send that notice, the seller has three business days to unlock and provide the code so that we can take custody of the domain.

Any request to unlock earlier did not come from us. Call 888-897-0886 to verify.

From the seller: full legal name or entity name, mailing address, phone number, a completed W-9 (or W-8BEN/W-8BEN-E if foreign), confirmation of the registrar holding the domain and the account email, and bank details for the payout.

From the buyer: full legal name or entity name, mailing address, phone number, and the registrar plus account email where you want the domain delivered.

From a broker: the same identity details, a W-9, confirmation of the commission and which side it comes from, and payout bank details.

We’re disbursing funds to you, which creates a tax reporting obligation. The W-9 gives us the taxpayer identification number required to report it correctly. Foreign sellers provide a W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E instead.

Buyers don’t need to provide one, since they’re paying rather than receiving.

Yes, at any point before funds are released, with the written consent of all parties. Funds are returned to the buyer less any escrow fees already earned, which are non-refundable.

We can also cancel a transaction ourselves if a party fails to comply with the agreement, if there’s reasonable suspicion of fraud or misrepresentation, if the transaction would break the law, or — for outright purchases — if it isn’t completed within 60 days of signing.

The buyer makes monthly payments toward the purchase price, optionally after a down payment at signing. The seller keeps legal ownership throughout. Once every payment has been received and confirmed, the domain transfers to the buyer.

Maximum term is 48 months.

The standard service fee from the schedule above, plus a 1.9% administration fee included in each monthly payment. That covers the ongoing escrow management across the life of the lease.

The calculator will show you the exact monthly figure including the administration fee.

Yes. There is no prepayment penalty. The remaining balance can be paid in full at any time, and we’ll then facilitate the transfer as normal.

If a payment is more than 5 days late, the seller may issue a written notice of delinquency. The lessee then has 10 calendar days from that notice to bring the account current, including any late charges.

Cure within that window and the agreement continues as if nothing happened — no default is recorded.

Fail to cure and the seller may declare default, at which point prior payments are forfeited, the license to use the domain is revoked, and the seller may pursue other remedies.

We do — under both services. For the entire lease term the domain sits in a registrar account maintained and controlled by JJN Solutions Law, PLLC. This applies to both lease-to-own and straight lease.

This is the protection that matters most to a lessee: the owner cannot quietly sell or move the domain out from under a lease that’s being paid on time. Under the Escrow Service the monthly payments run through our trust account as well; under the Standard Service they are paid directly to the owner, who confirms each receipt to us.

A straight lease is a rental. The lessee gets a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to use the domain for the agreed term. No ownership interest transfers at any point. At the end of the term all rights revert automatically to the owner unless a written renewal is signed.

A $395 one-time setup fee, plus 3.5% of each monthly lease payment. Lease payments and the setup fee are non-refundable.

No on both counts, without written permission.

The lessee must get the owner’s written approval for the intended use — the nature of the website, business, or content going on the domain. And the lessee may not assign, sublicense, sublease, rent, or otherwise let a third party use or benefit from the domain without written consent from both the owner and us.

Unauthorised subleasing is a material breach: rights terminate immediately, amounts paid are forfeited to the extent the law allows, and liquidated damages of $10,000 apply.

The lessee. Under the agreement, the lessee indemnifies both the domain owner and JJN Solutions Law, PLLC against claims arising from their use of the domain — including UDRP proceedings, trademark disputes, cybersquatting claims, and any content or business operated on it. That obligation survives the end of the agreement.

Yes. Select Broker as your role when you start a transaction and you’ll be asked for both the buyer’s and the seller’s details. Both parties are notified independently and asked to confirm the terms.

At the same time as the seller’s proceeds — the next business day after the verification period closes without objection, or after the buyer confirms acceptance in writing.

You’ll be asked to confirm the commission amount and which side of the transaction it comes from, and that must match what the buyer and seller have agreed. If you’ve agreed to pay part of the service fee, it’s deducted from your commission at disbursement.

Yes. Brokers have their own signature block on the Domain Transfer & Escrow Agreement. You are not, however, responsible for the performance of either the buyer or the seller — we remain the neutral escrow agent throughout.

Every legitimate email from us comes from an @jjnsolutions.com address. Check the sender domain carefully — lookalike domains with an extra letter or a swapped character are the standard trick.

If you receive anything matching that description, do not act on it. Call 888-897-0886 and confirm with us directly.

Because it is the single most common way people lose money in domain transactions. The attack is simple: a fraudster monitors or spoofs an email thread, then sends what looks like a routine follow-up containing different bank details. The buyer wires to the wrong account and the money is usually unrecoverable within hours.

Our defense is that our wire instructions never change. Any email suggesting they have is fraudulent, no matter how convincing it looks. Always call to verify before sending funds.

We call you at the phone number on file and verbally confirm the account details before sending anything. We do this on every transaction, and we do not skip it because someone is in a hurry.

In a regulated attorney trust account maintained by JJN Solutions Law, PLLC, governed by the professional rules applying to attorney trust accounts in the jurisdiction where the firm is licensed.

Those rules are stricter than what applies to a non-attorney escrow provider: client funds must be segregated from firm operating funds, meticulously accounted for, and are subject to the oversight that applies to attorney trust accounts.

Yes. All parties agree to keep the terms confidential except as required by law or court order, or as necessary to enforce the agreement. We may disclose information about a transaction where required by law or by the professional responsibility rules governing attorneys.

The contract governing your transaction. It’s signed by the buyer, the seller, the broker where there is one, and JJN Solutions Law, PLLC as escrow agent. It sets out the transaction terms, each party’s obligations, the verification period, who pays the fee, dispute resolution, and cancellation.

You can request a copy for review before initiating anything — just email escrow@jjnsolutions.com.

Electronically. You’ll receive a separate email with a signature request containing your copy with the transaction details already filled in. There’s nothing to print, scan, or post back.

Once every party has signed, the fully executed agreement returns to us automatically and a completed copy is emailed to everyone for their records.

No. JJN Solutions Law, PLLC acts as a neutral escrow agent, not as counsel to the buyer, the seller, or the broker. We do not represent any party’s interests against another’s, and nothing we provide is legal advice about your transaction.

If you want advice on whether a deal is good for you, engage your own lawyer.

Among other things, that they lawfully own the domain and have authority to sell it; that it isn’t subject to any pending or threatened lawsuit, arbitration, or UDRP proceeding; that it carries no lien or third-party claim; that they aren’t in bankruptcy or a similar proceeding; that they haven’t received an undisclosed cease-and-desist or trademark notice about it; and that the domain wasn’t registered or used in bad faith.

No. We make no representation or warranty about the domain itself — its value, traffic, history, trademark status, or suitability for any purpose. Our role is limited to the financial and administrative side of the transaction.

Valuation and due diligence on the asset are for the buyer.

Funds go on hold immediately — nothing is released while a dispute is open.

1. The parties attempt to resolve it through good faith negotiation for 15 business days from written notice.
2. Failing that, the dispute goes to binding arbitration under the Commercial Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association, held in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area or by videoconference if the parties prefer.

We may also deposit the funds with a court by interpleader and let it decide. We do not adjudicate disputes between parties ourselves — our neutrality is the point.

The prevailing party can recover reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs.

The laws of the District of Columbia, without regard to conflict of law provisions.

Raise it in writing during the verification period. Funds go on hold, nothing is released, and we work with both parties to sort it out. Most cases are a registrar-side administrative issue rather than bad faith, and are resolved within a day or two.

If it can’t be resolved, the dispute process applies.

Tell us. We’ll attempt contact through every channel on file. If the transaction can’t be completed, funds are returned to the buyer less any non-refundable fees already earned. For outright purchases, we may cancel a transaction that hasn’t completed within 60 days of signing.

Just reply to the confirmation email and tell us what’s wrong. Nothing proceeds until both parties confirm the terms, so a mistake caught at this stage costs nothing. We’ll correct it and reissue.

Check your spam folder first. If it isn’t there, email escrow@jjnsolutions.com or call 888-897-0886 and we’ll resend.

One known cause: if two roles in the same transaction were given the same email address, only one of the two notices will arrive. Tell us and we’ll sort it out.

Yes, and we’d encourage it on anything substantial. Todd Ryan — escrow@jjnsolutions.com or 888-897-0886.