What happens to domains if the domain registrar goes out of business?
I think the domain names goes back on the market?
Plus how could you do anything with your domain if the domain registrar is no longer around.

I don't think this has happened yet. Usually if a registrar is going under, they'll be bought out by one of the bigger fish. I would think that f a registrar did go out of business, ICANN would make sure that the domains go to another registrar. If the registrar is not ICANN accredited, you'd probably be SOL.

-Dan

there would be no shortage of registrars willing to step in and manage the domains of the failed registrar.

Actually if a registrar goes out of business all their domains revert back to network solutions.

If a Reseller goes out of business (happens all the time) the names go back to the control of the Registrar. A simple transfer to another Reseller for that Registrar fixes the problem.

If a Registrar goes out of business their names revert to the control of the Registry. In the case of .com, .net and .org, this would be Verisign. Verisign would more than likely turn these over to NetSol to manage for them - since they own it.

For domains not controlled by Verisign, they would revert back to the control of their specific Registry - Nominet, Afilias, NeuLevel, etc. depending on the TLD.

-t

I'm betting that a failing registrar wouldn't just disappear; it would be bought up by another registrar for its assets (to wit; registered domains). There's a lot of competition in the registrar business, and a couple of registrars have gone public, so they have big cash reserves.

In this scenario, you'd have access to your domain through the new registrar's facilities--or be able to transfer away to another registrar (probably after a sixty-day waiting period).

In any event, you need to make sure that your admin contact information is up to date; the email address especially is the key to making any changes to your domain.