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 hold the money — and in some cases the domain itself — 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 hold the buyer's funds in our attorney trust account. The difference is whether we also take custody of the domain.

Full details: Transfer Service · Escrow Service

If the two parties know each other, or the amount is modest, the Transfer Service is usually sufficient and costs less. Choose the Escrow Service when the domain is valuable enough that you want it out of the seller's control before any money moves, when the parties are strangers, or when either side has expressed concern about the other performing.

If you're unsure, call us at 888-897-0886 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 Transfer 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.

• 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.

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.

On larger transactions, wire is almost always cheaper. Because the ACH fee is a percentage, a $500,000 transaction sent by ACH carries $5,000 in bank fees — the same $500,000 sent by wire carries $20.

Payout details are collected before closing and recorded in your agreement. Sellers are normally paid by domestic or international bank wire; wires carry the same $20 flat charge. Whichever method you choose, the payout is made from the same attorney trust account that held the funds, so there is a clean record on both sides.

After the buyer's 5 business day inspection period. On an escrow transaction, funds are released to the seller the next business day and the domain is transferred to the buyer the next business day. On a transfer transaction, the domain moves directly from seller to buyer, receipt of full administrative control is confirmed, and funds are released the next business day.

Sellers receiving funds provide a W-9 if they are a U.S. person or entity. Non-U.S. sellers provide a W-8BEN (individual) or W-8BEN-E (entity) instead. We collect this during the authorization step, before any payout is scheduled.

Any party can start it — Seller/Lessor, Buyer/Lessee, or Broker. You submit the domain, the amount, the transaction type, who pays the fee, and contact details for the other side. The initiating party gets an immediate confirmation.

We email the other party the full terms exactly as submitted and ask them to agree to them. Nothing is drafted, nothing is invoiced, and no funds are requested until both sides have said yes to the same set of terms.

Once both sides agree, JJN Solutions Law, PLLC emails a formal Transaction Agreement containing all terms plus each party's name, address, email, and phone number. It is drafted to protect both parties in the event of non-performance. Both sides sign and return it.

At authorization — after the signed agreement is back from both sides. The Buyer/Lessee receives payment instructions; the Seller/Lessor receives domain transfer instructions. Funds are confirmed in the trust account before the domain is asked to move.

The Buyer/Lessee has 5 business days to confirm full administrative control of the domain name — that they can log in, manage DNS, and hold it in their own account without restriction. Closing happens after that window.

Most of the timeline is you, not us: agreement and signatures usually take a day or two, funding depends on your payment method (a wire clears in hours, ACH takes several days), and then the 5 business day inspection period runs. Cooperative parties using wire typically close inside two weeks.

The seller does the moving, following our instructions. Where both parties hold accounts at the same registrar, an account-to-account push is the fastest and cleanest route. Otherwise the seller unlocks the domain and supplies the authorization (EPP) code for a registrar-to-registrar transfer. On escrow transactions the domain moves first into a neutral JJN-controlled account, then out to the buyer at closing.

Registry rules can impose a 60-day lock on a registrar transfer after a change of registrant or a recent inbound transfer. Tell us before initiating if the domain was bought or updated recently — in most of those cases a same-registrar push is used instead, and we structure the closing around whatever the registrar actually allows.

The buyer pays monthly toward ownership. Each payment runs through us and is passed to the seller under the schedule in the agreement. When the final payment is made, the domain transfers to the buyer and the deal closes.

On an escrow-service lease-to-own, the domain sits in a neutral JJN-controlled account for the duration, with the buyer using it — so the seller can't sell it out from under the buyer and the buyer can't disappear with it before it is paid for. On a transfer-service lease, the seller retains the registration until the schedule completes.

The agreement states, in advance, what happens on missed payments — including any cure period and the consequence of default. Because the terms are written and signed by both sides before the first dollar moves, neither party has to argue about the rules after the fact.

In a straight lease the lessee rents use of the domain for a defined term and no ownership transfers at any point. At the end of the term the domain simply remains with the lessor unless the parties agree to something new.

On the total transaction amount under the agreement, using the same rate table and the same minimum fees ($350 transfer / $600 escrow). The fee calculator will give you the figure for your specific structure — and, as with any transaction, the parties choose who pays it.

Yes. Brokers initiate as often as principals do. You submit the terms and both parties are notified automatically with the full transaction details, so nobody is working from a different version of the deal.

Yes — the commission is recorded in the agreement and disbursed from the trust account at closing along with the seller's proceeds. If the parties choose the Broker pays fee option, our service fee is deducted from that commission.

The process is identical every time, which is exactly why it gets fast: you already know what we will ask for, and your counterparties receive a document that looks and reads the same on every deal. Call 888-897-0886 if you have a pipeline of deals to run.

The Transaction Agreement includes all terms and each party's name, address, email, and phone number. That transparency is deliberate: an agreement that protects both sides against non-performance has to identify who is bound by it.

In the regulated attorney trust account of JJN Solutions Law, PLLC. Client funds are held separately from the firm's own operating funds and are disbursed only in accordance with the signed agreement.

Every party is identified by name, address, email, and phone in the agreement, and both sides must sign before instructions are issued. Sellers also provide tax documentation (W-9, or W-8BEN / W-8BEN-E) before any payout is scheduled. Verification is on the record, not on trust.

This is the real risk in domain deals: a fraudster intercepts or spoofs an email thread and sends you altered banking details. Our instructions never change mid-transaction. If you receive any message that changes payment instructions, do not send funds — call 888-897-0886 and verify by voice with us first.

It protects your money. Funds stay in trust while the domain moves, and the buyer has 5 business days to confirm full administrative control before closing. If control cannot be delivered cleanly, the transaction does not close — the money has not left our account.

No. We are neutral and we do not advise any party on price, value, trademark exposure, traffic history, or whether the deal is a good idea. Due diligence is the buyer's job, and the inspection period exists so it can be finished before closing.

No. These are administrative and transaction-facilitation services rather than legal services, and using them does not create an attorney-client relationship with JJN Solutions Law, PLLC or its attorneys. We administer the transaction for both sides as a neutral intermediary.

Because a regulated attorney trust account is a strict, supervised custody arrangement for client funds. That is a rule about how your money is safeguarded — it does not convert escrow into a legal service or make us anyone's counsel.

All transactions are denominated in U.S. dollars and governed by the laws of the District of Columbia, regardless of where the parties are located.

If the parties have already signed their own agreement, tell us before initiating so its terms can be reflected in the transaction we administer. What we cannot do is administer two documents that contradict each other — the terms we hold funds against have to be unambiguous.

No — we stay neutral and never advise one party against the other. Legal services are available separately from JJN Solutions Law, PLLC under a written engagement agreement, subject to a conflicts check and billed at the firm's hourly rates.

It stays in the trust account. Funds are released only when the agreed conditions are met, so a seller who fails to perform cannot be paid. Call 888-897-0886 and we will tell you precisely where your funds stand and what the agreement provides for non-performance.

Then nothing moves. Domain transfer instructions are issued after signatures, and on escrow transactions we confirm funds before the domain is released to the buyer — so a seller is never left having handed over a name against an unfunded deal.

That is what the 5 business day inspection period is for. Raise it with us inside the window, and closing does not proceed until the seller has delivered full administrative control or the parties agree on a different outcome.

Yes, if the parties agree to cancel — we handle the return of funds from the trust account. Because the minimum fees reflect real work already performed on your file (drafting, trust accounting, verification), talk to us before cancelling so you know exactly what applies to your transaction.

We remain neutral. Funds stay in trust and are disbursed only on the terms of the signed agreement, on joint written instruction from the parties, or as otherwise required — under District of Columbia law. We do not pick a side, and we do not release money because one party asks loudly.

Us, immediately — 888-897-0886 or email us. The earlier we know, the more of the process is still in front of you and the easier the fix is.