Transferring a domain

The short answer

To move a domain name to a new registrar you need four things: the domain unlocked at the current registrar, the EPP or auth code (a one-off transfer password), a working email address on the domain’s contact record so you can approve the transfer, and the domain to be more than 60 days past registration or any change of owner details. Collect those first and the transfer itself usually completes within a few days.

Transferring a domain is separate from moving your website. You can do either without the other.

What it means

A domain name is registered with a company called a registrar, which is where you renew it each year and manage who owns it. Transferring a domain means moving that registration to a different registrar. The website files, the database and the email are not part of it; they live with your host, which may or may not be the same company.

The process is defined by ICANN (the body that oversees domain names) so it works the same way across registrars. You ask the new registrar to take the domain, prove you are entitled to by supplying the auth code, and confirm by email. The old registrar has up to five days to release it. When it completes, a year is added to the domain’s expiry date, so you do not lose paid-for time.

A few protections exist to stop domains being hijacked, and those same protections are what delay honest transfers: the registrar lock, the 60-day rule and DNSSEC.

Common causes

• The 60-day lock. ICANN rules block transfers for 60 days after a domain is first registered, transferred, or after the registrant name, organisation or email is changed. Updating your contact details right before a transfer resets the clock.
• Registrar lock still on. Most registrars lock domains against transfer by default. The request is rejected, sometimes silently, until the lock is off.
• Approval email never seen. The confirmation goes to the registrant contact email on the domain. If that address is old, misspelled, or routed through a WHOIS privacy service that drops mail, the transfer stalls and eventually expires.
• DNSSEC enabled. DNSSEC adds a cryptographic signature to the domain’s DNS. If it is left on, the signing keys stop matching after the transfer and the domain can go offline. It has to be removed before the transfer starts.
• Domain expired or close to expiring. Many registrars will not release a domain in its renewal grace period. Renew first, then transfer; the extra year still gets added.

How to fix it

1. Check the dates. Confirm the domain is not within 60 days of registration, a previous transfer, or a change of registrant details, and that it is not about to expire. If it expires soon, renew it at the current registrar first.
2. Check the contact email. Make sure the registrant email address on the domain is one you can read today. Changing it may trigger the 60-day lock at some registrars, so ask before saving if you must update it.
3. Remove DNSSEC. In the current registrar’s DNS or security settings, disable DNSSEC and wait for the record to clear (allow up to a day).
4. Turn off WHOIS privacy only if the registrar asks. Modern transfers usually work with privacy on. Disable it only if the new registrar reports it cannot verify the contact.
5. Unlock the domain. In the current registrar’s Domains section, turn off the transfer lock (sometimes called registrar lock or domain lock).
6. Get the EPP or auth code. It is on the same screen, or emailed to the registrant address rather than shown. Copy it exactly.
7. Start the transfer at the new registrar. Enter the domain and the code, and pay for the transfer, which includes the added year.
8. Approve the email. Watch for the approval message and click confirm. Some old registrars also send a “do you want to cancel” email; ignore that one.
9. Recreate DNS if needed. If the old registrar was also your DNS provider, its nameservers may stop answering for you once the transfer completes. Copy the records (A, MX, SPF, DKIM, DMARC, TXT) beforehand and either keep the same nameservers at the new registrar or recreate the records there.

On WP Alpha

A domain transfer and a hosting migration are separate jobs. If you are moving your website to WP Alpha, the free concierge migration covers the site and the DNS changeover, and the domain itself can stay at your current registrar with no effect on hosting. VERIFY: whether WP Alpha registers or transfers domains

If you do transfer the domain at the same time as the migration, tell support first so the DNS records can be captured before the old registrar stops answering. Support is 24/7 on live chat and tickets.