Privacy-oriented domain service that also sells VPS and VPN, payable in crypto
Privacy 6.3
Safety 6.0
Domains Since 2000 Reviewed 22 Oct 2026
Namecheap review
Large US registrar that takes Bitcoin top-ups, but its terms let it demand government ID
- Company named
- 5+ years operating
- May ask for ID
- Email required
- Phone number required
ID on risk flag KYC 3 Documentation reviewed
Privacy
1.5/ 10
Poor
Safety
6.1/ 10
Fair
Based on terms and documentation. No test transactions published yet. See the arithmetic
Namecheap review in short
Namecheap is a domain registrar operating since 2000. Its terms put it at KYC level 3 of 4: ID on risk flag. NoKYC Score grades it 1.5/10 for privacy (poor) and 6.1/10 for safety (fair). In its favour: company named and 5+ years operating. To watch: it may ask for ID, requires an email address and requires a phone number. No incidents are on record.
- Category
- Domains
- KYC level
- 3 of 4: ID on risk flag
- Grades
- Privacy 1.5/10, Safety 6.1/10
- Sign-up
- Email required
- Limits
- Crypto account deposits from $1 to $100,000; BitPay requires ID at $3,000 or more
- Jurisdiction
- United States
- Incidents on record
- 0
- Last reviewed
- 22 Oct 2026
Cite this review
NoKYC Score, "Namecheap review", reviewed 22 Oct 2026, https://nokycscore.com/service/namecheap
Also available as plain text.
What Namecheap is
Namecheap, Inc. is a large ICANN-accredited domain registrar based in Phoenix, Arizona, with WHOIS privacy on by default. Customers can add account funds with Bitcoin through BTCPay, which works with any Bitcoin wallet, or with Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum and other coins through BitPay. Funds are then used for domains and other products, alongside cards and PayPal. BitPay asks for ID from customers who pay $3,000 or more and from anyone requesting a refund; BTCPay has no such note. The registration agreement requires the registrant, admin, technical and billing contacts to provide a name, postal address, email address and phone number. The universal terms of service include a clause where the customer agrees to provide government-issued photo ID, plus anything else Namecheap deems necessary, to verify identity. They also allow automated tools to flag high-risk registrations and suspend them, and require identity verification, which can use the Veriff service, before support or account recovery. Crypto top-ups are not refundable.
What Namecheap offers, and what to watch
2 of 11 privacy and safety features, 3 warnings in its terms.
"Not stated" means its own pages do not say.
Identity
- ID never required No
- No account needed No
- No email needed No
- No phone number No
Payment
- Accepts Monero Not stated
- Accepts Lightning Not stated
Access
- Tor onion address Not stated
- Works without JavaScript Not stated
Trust
- Independent audit Not stated
- Company named Yes The operating company and its jurisdiction are published.
- 5+ years operating Yes Has operated continuously for five years or more.
Warnings
- May ask for ID Yes The terms reserve the right to demand identity documents, often after a risk flag.
- Email required Yes An email address is required to use the service.
- Phone number required Yes A phone number is required to use the service.
- Nobody accountable Not in terms
Does Namecheap require KYC?
- 0 Never
- 1 Not mentioned
- 2 Rare
- 3 On risk flag
- 4 Mandatory
KYC level 3: ID on risk flag. The terms allow funds to be held and identity demanded after an automated risk flag.
Universal Terms of Service section 7(F): you agree to provide government-issued photo ID or business ID, plus whatever else Namecheap deems necessary, to verify your identity. Section 21 requires identity verification, which may use Veriff, before support is given, and section 22 requires identification to restore account access. BitPay deposits need ID at $3,000 or more. The registration agreement requires name, postal address, email and phone for all contacts.
How the grades add up
Both grades start at 50 points and move by fixed, published amounts. Nothing is adjusted by hand. The total is divided by ten.
Privacy
1.5- Starting points 50
- KYC level 3: ID on risk flag -14
- Requires email -4
- Requires phone number -10
- May request ID -7
- Total, clamped to 0–100 15
Safety
6.1- Starting points 50
- 5+ years operating +10
- Legal entity disclosed +5
- May request ID -4
- Total, clamped to 0–100 61
Test ledger
Real transactions run by our editors. A badge without a ledger is an assertion; this is the proof.
No test transactions published yet
The grades above rest on Namecheap’s terms and documentation. Tests will appear here with the date, route, amount band and result as they are run.
Incidents on record
No incidents are on record for Namecheap. If you have a documented case, report it.
User reviews
Reviews never change a grade. Reviews with a transaction reference are marked.
No reviews yet.
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Namecheap: common questions
Does Namecheap require KYC?
Namecheap is rated KYC level 3 of 4 on this site: ID on risk flag. Universal Terms of Service section 7(F): you agree to provide government-issued photo ID or business ID, plus whatever else Namecheap deems necessary, to verify your identity. Section 21 requires identity verification, which may use Veriff, before support is given, and section 22 requires identification to restore account access. BitPay deposits need ID at $3,000 or more. The registration agreement requires name, postal address, email and phone for all contacts.
Is Namecheap safe to use?
Namecheap has a Safety grade of 6.1 out of 10 and a Privacy grade of 1.5 out of 10. No incidents are on record. Evidence level: documentation reviewed.
Is Namecheap legit?
Namecheap is a working domain registrar that has operated since 2000. It publishes the company that runs it, in United States. Being real is not the same as being safe: its Safety grade here is 6.1 out of 10, built from custody, liquidity, track record and incidents.
Is Namecheap a scam?
NoKYC Score does not label services as scams; it records documented incidents with their sources and outcomes. No incidents are on record for Namecheap. Its terms also allow it to hold a flagged deposit and ask for identity documents.
Do I need an account or email to use Namecheap?
Email required. A phone number is required.
What are Namecheap's limits?
Crypto account deposits from $1 to $100,000; BitPay requires ID at $3,000 or more.
Does Namecheap have a Tor onion address?
No official onion address was found on Namecheap's own pages.
Which cryptocurrencies does Namecheap support?
Namecheap supports BTC, BCH, ETH, and fiat payments in USD.
Can I use Namecheap over Tor?
Namecheap does not publish an official onion address.
Listing history
- Listing added as unrated. Not yet confirmed against the service's own pages.