Data Accuracy

Why Does ARIN Need Point of Contact Information?

A Point of Contact (POC) is a specific person or role account that is associated with an IPv4, IPv6, or Autonomous System Number (ASN) record in ARIN’s database. Registered POCs are the only ones authorized to make changes to an organization’s registration records. A POC can be specified as an Admin, Tech, Abuse, Network Operations Center (NOC), Routing, or Domain Name System (DNS) contact for an organization.

ARIN requires you to have valid POC information for a number of reasons, including but not limited to:

  • You requested Internet number resources (IP addresses and/or ASNs) from ARIN and need to manage those resources
  • You received Internet number resources through a reassignment from an upstream provider, or you plan to make a reassignment to one of your downstream customers
  • You hold legacy number resources (IPv4 addresses or ASNs) that are registered in ARIN’s Whois

Remember: keeping your POC information up to date is not only required by ARIN policy, but is also required under the terms and conditions of ARIN’s Registration Services Agreement (RSA) and Legacy RSA (LRSA). When you sign your RSA/LRSA, per section 3(b), you’re agreeing to keep this information up to date.

The ARIN Registration Services Agreement is available for review at any time on the ARIN website.

How Do I Validate My Point of Contact Information?

Per ARIN policy (NRPM 3.6), all POCs registered in ARIN’s Whois that are required to be validated by policy will receive an email asking them to validate that their POC registration information is still correct.

When you receive the POC validation email, please copy and paste the secure link into your browser to validate your POC. If you need to update your POC, please log into ARIN Online to update your POC information.

Each POC will have up to 60 days to respond to this email, either confirming that the information is still accurate or letting us know that changes need to be made.

Alternatively, you always have the option to go directly to your ARIN Online account and validate/update your POC from there. Once logged in, your Dashboard will display an alert that you need to validate your POC records. A list of unvalidated POCs is also provided.

After 60 days, unresponsive POC records will be marked as invalid in the database and users with unvalidated POCs will only have limited access to Terms of Service and POC functionality within ARIN Online. You will need to validate or update your POC information in order to access all other functionality.

Why is Accurate Registry Data So Important?

One of ARIN’s core responsibilities is to maintain a registry of unique Internet number resources (IP addresses and Autonomous System Numbers) and provide accurate registration information about these resources, including their associated organization and POC information.

An accurate registry contributes to the overall operability and stability of the Internet in a number of ways.

When you validate your POC record with ARIN and keep your registration information up to date and accurate, you’re not only improving the quality of the data in Whois, but you’re also taking two other important steps:

  1. You’re helping to prevent the hijacking of your resources. ARIN has increasingly found that registration records that haven’t been updated have become the prime targets of hijackers and other potential criminals. One common approach is to find these dormant resource, organization, and POC records, and then try to determine if their associated resources are being used by a viable organization. If it appears that the resources aren’t being used or that the registrant is no longer in business, the perpetrators then attempt to emulate the organization so they can take over the organization record and its related resources (including persuading ISPs to begin routing those resources). This type of fraud can eventually lead to a registrant losing control of not only its resources, but also its Org ID and POC records.

  2. You’re assisting law enforcement agencies (LEAs) in obtaining information from the registry needed to accomplish their mission and keep the public safe. Typically, the information that LEAs need is publicly available in Whois, and ARIN staff will assist in locating and interpreting this data. However, there are occasions when LEAs need additional information that ARIN may have that is not publicly available. In these cases, ARIN requires a subpoena or court order to deliver the requested information. Regardless of whether the information is public or not, having access to up to date registration information helps ensure that LEAs can act quickly and confidently when investigating criminal behavior. Encountering any records that haven’t been updated can be a potential hindrance to conducting an efficient investigation.

More information about ARIN and Law Enforcement Agencies can be found on the Law Enforcement Agencies page.

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