RFC 8605

vCard Format Extensions: ICANN Extensions for the Registration Data Access Protocol (RDAP)

📅 published May 2019, from ietf

RFC 8605: vCard Format Extensions: ICANN Extensions for the Registration Data Access Protocol (RDAP) 💖

Okay, title block tea ☕ here's the vibe:

RFC number: 8605
Authors: Scott Hollenbeck (Verisign Labs) and Roger Carney (GoDaddy Inc.)
Category: Informational
ISSN: 2070-1721
Date: May 2019
Obsoletes / Updates: The header doesn't list anything this one obsoletes or updates. 🌿

Abstract ✨

Okay so this doc adds new extensions to the vCard format (the thing that stores contact info 💌) so you can represent and swap contact details for ICANN's operational profile of RDAP. The new property and parameter add values to RDAP responses that match ICANN policies. It's giving compliance, but make it iconic 👑

Status of This Memo 📜

This document is not an Internet Standards Track specification. It's just published for informational purposes 📚

This document is a product of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). It represents the consensus of the IETF community, bestie 🫶 It has gotten public review and was approved for publication by the Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG). Not every document the IESG approves is a candidate for any level of Internet Standard, so check out Section 2 of RFC 7841 for that tea.

Info about the current status of this doc, any errata, and how to give feedback is at https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8605 🔗

Copyright Notice 🌈

This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal Provisions Relating to IETF Documents (https://trustee.ietf.org/license-info) as in effect on the date of publication. Please review these carefully, because they describe your rights and restrictions for this document. Code Components extracted from this document must include Simplified BSD License text as described in Section 4.e of the Trust Legal Provisions, and they're provided without warranty as described in the Simplified BSD License 🧾

Table of Contents 🗺️

1.  Introduction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   2
  1.1.  Terminology Used in This Document . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
2.  vCard Extensions: Properties  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
  2.1.  Property: CONTACT-URI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
3.  vCard Extensions: Parameters  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
  3.1.  Parameter: CC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
4.  IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
5.  Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
6.  References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
  6.1.  Normative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
  6.2.  Informative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
Acknowledgements  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
Authors' Addresses  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7

1. Introduction 🌸

So the "Temporary Specification for gTLD Registration Data" lives at https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/gtld-registration-data-specs-en. ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) published it in 2018 🗓️ The Temporary Specification has requirements that RDAP [RFC7483] can't meet right now unless the underlying vCard [RFC6350] spec gets extended. vCard is what RDAP entity objects use to represent contacts, so that's the gap. 🕳️ This document adds one extra vCard property and one extra vCard parameter to fill it and meet the Temporary Specification's requirements. Main character energy 🎀

1.1. Terminology Used in This Document 🔤

The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT", "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "NOT RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in BCP 14 [RFC2119] [RFC8174] when, and only when, they appear in all capitals, as shown here. (Only the all-caps versions count as BCP 14 key words. Lowercase is just normal English, periodt 💅)

Syntax specs in this doc use the augmented Backus-Naur Form (ABNF) as described in [RFC5234], and they're written the same way as in the base vCard spec [RFC6350] 🧩

2. vCard Extensions: Properties 🎁

This document describes one new vCard extension property. Just one, but it's a big one 🦋

2.1. Property: CONTACT-URI 📧

Namespace: (blank)
Property name: CONTACT-URI
Purpose: RDAP entity info can get redacted in some situations (like for privacy 🙈). The Temporary Specification says RDAP entity objects for the "Registrant", "Admin", and "Tech" contacts have to include an email address or a location for a web form. That's so people can reach the contact by email without it identifying the actual person. CONTACT-URI is the property you use to include URIs for an email address or a web form location. Clean and private 🫣
Value type: A single URI value.
Cardinality: *
Property parameters: PREF
Description: At least one mailto, http, or https URI value MUST be provided. Additional CONTACT-URI properties MAY be provided to describe other contact methods. If you use multiple CONTACT-URI properties, the vCard PREF parameter MUST be used to mark the most preferred one, as described in Section 5.3 of RFC 6350 [RFC6350]. Pick a fave, bestie 💜

Format definition:

CONTACT-URI-param = "VALUE=uri" / pref-param ; pref-param from
[RFC6350]

CONTACT-URI-value = uri ; uri from [RFC3986]

Examples:

CONTACT-URI:https://contact.example.com

CONTACT-URI;PREF=1:mailto:contact@example.com

3. vCard Extensions: Parameters 🧚

This document describes one new vCard extension parameter. Small but mighty ✨

3.1. Parameter: CC 🌍

Namespace: (blank)
Parameter name: CC
Purpose: ICANN requires ISO 3166 [ISO.3166.1988] two-letter codes in RDAP entity responses, not "country names" 🙅‍♀️ This parameter extends the ADR property described in Section 6.3.1 of RFC 6350 [RFC6350].
Description: This parameter contains the ISO 3166 [ISO.3166.1988] two-character country code that goes with the "country name" ADR component described in Section 6.3.1 of RFC 6350 [RFC6350]. So the code and the name stay in sync 🤝

Format definition:

CC-param = "CC=" 2ALPHA

Examples:

ADR;TYPE=work;CC=US:;;54321 Oak St;Reston;VA;20190;USA

ADR;TYPE=home;CC=US:;;12345 Elm St;Reston;VA;20190;USA

4. IANA Considerations 📋

IANA has added the following entry to the "vCard Properties" registry defined in Section 10.3.1 of RFC 6350 [RFC6350]:

Namespace:
Property: CONTACT-URI
Reference: Section 2.1 of RFC 8605 (this RFC)

IANA is also requested to add the following entry to the vCard Parameters registry defined in Section 10.3.2 of RFC 6350 [RFC6350]:

Namespace:
Property: CC
Reference: Section 3.1 of RFC 8605 (this RFC)

5. Security Considerations 🔐

This one's serious, bestie 😭 The CONTACT-URI value is purposefully meant to be a publicly visible contact reference, so it cannot require confidentiality protection. Zero secrets in there. There are still privacy implications when you pick a URI scheme for the web form contact method. An "https" URI value can indicate that connections to the server publishing the web form support confidentiality protection. Beyond that, this document has no other security considerations on top of what Section 9 of the base vCard spec [RFC6350] already covers. Stay safe out there 💀

6. References 📚

6.1. Normative References

[ISO.3166.1988]
           International Organization for Standardization, "Codes for
           the representation of names of countries, 3rd edition",
           ISO Standard 3166, August 1988.

[RFC2119]  Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
           Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119,
           DOI 10.17487/RFC2119, March 1997,
           <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2119>.

[RFC3986]  Berners-Lee, T., Fielding, R., and L. Masinter, "Uniform
           Resource Identifier (URI): Generic Syntax", STD 66,
           RFC 3986, DOI 10.17487/RFC3986, January 2005,
           <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc3986>.

[RFC5234]  Crocker, D., Ed. and P. Overell, "Augmented BNF for Syntax
           Specifications: ABNF", STD 68, RFC 5234,
           DOI 10.17487/RFC5234, January 2008,
           <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5234>.

[RFC6350]  Perreault, S., "vCard Format Specification", RFC 6350,
           DOI 10.17487/RFC6350, August 2011,
           <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6350>.

[RFC8174]  Leiba, B., "Ambiguity of Uppercase vs Lowercase in RFC
           2119 Key Words", BCP 14, RFC 8174, DOI 10.17487/RFC8174,
           May 2017, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8174>.

6.2. Informative References

[RFC7483]  Newton, A. and S. Hollenbeck, "JSON Responses for the
           Registration Data Access Protocol (RDAP)", RFC 7483,
           DOI 10.17487/RFC7483, March 2015,
           <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7483>.

Acknowledgements 🫶

The author would like to thank the following person for their contributions to this document: Rick Wilhelm. Thank you, Rick 🌷

Authors' Addresses 🏡

Scott Hollenbeck
Verisign Labs
12061 Bluemont Way
Reston, VA  20190
United States of America

Email: shollenbeck@verisign.com
URI:   https://www.verisignlabs.com/


Roger Carney
GoDaddy Inc.
14455 N. Hayden Rd. #219
Scottsdale, AZ  85260
United States of America

Email: rcarney@godaddy.com
URI:   http://www.godaddy.com

That's the whole thing, bestie! 🌈 Two authors, one property, one parameter, and a whole lot of ICANN compliance served with a bow 🎀

📦 where this page comes from

ietf: rfc8605 2019-05
💖 girlified by claude-haiku-5-5 on 2026-10-18: a language model's rewrite of the original, under its terms