A domain transfer moves the registration from one registrar to another. It does not move your website or your email, and it does not change your DNS — those are separate things and are covered in the article on nameservers and records.
Before you start: the four blockers
A transfer will be refused, usually with an unhelpful error, if any of these is true.
- The domain is locked. Registrar lock is on by default and exists to prevent unauthorised transfers. Unlock it at the current registrar.
- You do not have the authorisation code. Also called the EPP code or auth code. Request it from the current registrar; it is usually emailed to the registrant address.
- The domain was registered or transferred in the last 60 days. Registry policy prohibits a further transfer within that window. There is no way around it. Wait.
- The registrant email address is wrong or unreachable. The transfer approval goes to the address in the WHOIS record. If that is an old mailbox you no longer have, fix it before starting — and note that changing registrant details can itself trigger a 60-day transfer lock at some registrars.
WHOIS privacy
Privacy services replace your details with the provider's. Some registrars will not release an authorisation code, or will send it to an address you cannot read, while privacy is active. Disable it for the duration of the transfer and re-enable it afterwards.
The sequence
- Unlock the domain at the current registrar.
- Disable WHOIS privacy.
- Confirm the registrant email address is one you can read right now.
- Request the authorisation code.
- Start the transfer from the Domains section of the client area and supply the code.
- Approve the transfer when the confirmation email arrives. This is the step people miss — an unapproved transfer expires and you start again.
- Wait. Most transfers complete within five to seven days, and many registries will not release earlier even if both sides have approved.
What a transfer does to your expiry date
Most transfers add a year to the existing expiry rather than resetting it, and that year is charged. You do not lose the time remaining. Country-code domains vary; ask if it matters to you.
Do not let it expire during the transfer
An expired domain cannot be transferred, and recovering one from redemption is expensive. If expiry is within about three weeks, renew it at the current registrar first and transfer afterwards. Paying for one extra year at the old registrar is far cheaper than a redemption fee.
Nothing changes for your website
Your site and email keep working throughout, because the nameservers travel with the domain. If you also want to move DNS hosting, do that as a separate, later step.
If a transfer fails and the error is not obvious, send us the domain and the exact message. Most failures are one of the four blockers above.
