Transfer a domain name
Unlock, get the transfer code, validate: what changes, what doesn't, and what to do if the transfer fails.
What changes and what doesn't
Transferring a domain name means changing the registrar that manages it. Your DNS servers, site and e-mail don't move during the transfer, as long as you keep the same name servers.
Before you ask for the transfer
- Check the domain's age: a name registered or transferred less than 60 days ago usually can't be transferred.
- Check the holder's e-mail address: the validation message goes there. Fix it at your current registrar if nobody reads it any more.
- Unlock the domain at your current registrar ("transfer lock").
- Ask for the transfer code (authorisation code, EPP, auth code).
- Note your DNS records if your DNS is the former registrar's: it may stop when the transfer ends.
Ask for the transfer
On our Domain names page, search your name and choose the transfer, then type the code. The order follows the same path as a registration: summary, invoice, payment.
Transferring a generic extension usually adds a year to the domain's expiry date.
During the transfer
The holder gets a message to validate. Without an answer, the transfer most often completes by itself after five days for generic extensions; the former registrar can also release it sooner at your request.
After the transfer
- The domain shows in your client area, with its expiry date.
- Check the name servers and, if you changed them, your DNS records.
- Turn the transfer lock back on.
If the transfer fails
The most frequent causes: a wrong or expired code, a domain still locked, an unreachable holder address, a domain too recent. Fix and start again; the support can tell you where the request stands.