To do or not to do – providing passport number for domain name?

Question

Hello all!Long time lurker, first time poster.I would like to copy Naval Ravikant's website domain name (nav.al), because my first name also ends with "al".However, in order to buy the Albanian domain name (.al) from Marcaria.com, the "domain authority requires that you provide additional information about the owner of the domain: Passport Number or Personal ID".I am in the US and have never had to do this for work or personal domains I purchased from Google Domains, so I am uncomfortable with providing my passport number.Has anyone done this before?Can someone provide context to this situation, so I can better understand the verification request?Thanks!

mtmail · Accepted Answer

I think they have restriction on second-level domains https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.al "restrictions apply only on second level domains (ex: .com.al) which are allowed only for Albanian citizens and businesses registered in Albania" so you'd have to find somebody in the country to act on your behalf..cat (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.cat) is another example. They check if you live in the area (France, Spain) or are somewhat related to Catalan language or region.

toast0 · Answer

Looking around, some countries are starting to want more identifying information for registrants. This would take the form of a national id number or passport id number for individuals, or a company id number for companies.
In this case, it doesn't look like a local presence requirement (which you can often look around and find a registrar which includes local presence as an add-on or baked into the price), but just a requirement for a number that they're unlikely to validate at this time.
If it were me, I'd let them have my US social security number. Everyone else has it, no big deal. Unless you intend to a) post content that may be illegal or objectionable in Albania on this domain and b) plan to visit Albania, I don't think there's a lot of risk. But if you do a, I'd think you're risking losing your domain anyhow.

brudgers · Answer

If the domain name matters, provide the number and do the thing that matters. If it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter. Good luck.

aaron695 · Answer

> I am uncomfortable with providing my passport number.
Whenever you've traveled you'll have handed it over to dinky little hostels/backpackers/hotels to photocopy the whole passport page..... is this different?
When they literally paper photocopied it, different. These days as the digital world absorbs us all I'd assume hotels also grab an electronic copy.
Check Reddit, you don't want a second-level domain so don't need to be a citizen, try a different re-seller if it worries you.
[edit] And if you don't care too much give them a fake passport number. You can say you accidently gave them your old one if you get caught out, plus it's good practicing creating fake identities.