How to transfer a domain to another registrar without breaking anything.
The transfer itself is a few clicks. The outage people suffer comes from DNS records nobody copied, and that part is entirely avoidable.
Moving a domain from one registrar to another is a defined process with rules set by ICANN, the body that oversees generic domains like .com, .net and .org. It is not complicated. What goes wrong is almost never the transfer. It is that the domain’s DNS records lived at the old registrar, nobody copied them, and the website and email went dark on the day the transfer completed.
So this guide is in two halves: the transfer steps, and how to keep your site and email running while you do them. Read both before you start.
Before you start: three checks
- Confirm you can log in to the current registrar account and that it is yours. If someone else holds it, the transfer has to start with them, and the guide on getting your website back covers that conversation.
- Check the registrant email address on the domain. Some registrars send transfer confirmations there. If it is an old employee’s address or an agency’s, change it to one you control first, then read the 60-day rules below before you do.
- Note the expiry date. Do not start a transfer in the final days before the domain expires. Renew first if you are close, because a domain that lapses mid-transfer is a much bigger problem than a transfer that waits a week.
The 60-day transfer locks
Under ICANN’s current Transfer Policy, there are periods when a transfer can be refused, and they catch people out because nothing on screen warns you in advance.
| Situation | What the policy says |
|---|---|
| Domain registered less than 60 days ago | The registrar may deny a transfer to another registrar. |
| Domain transferred between registrars less than 60 days ago | The registrar may deny another transfer. |
| Registrant changed in the last 60 days (name, organization or email) | The registrar must apply a 60-day lock on transfers to another registrar, unless you opted out beforehand. Registrars may offer that opt-out but do not have to. |
The practical lesson: if you need to both change the owner details and move registrars, check whether your registrar offers the opt-out before you change anything. If it does not, plan for the 60-day wait, or move the domain first and update the contact details at the new registrar afterwards.
What transfers and what does not
A registrar transfer moves the registration: who the domain is registered through, and who you pay to renew it. For generic domains, ICANN’s policy adds one year to the registration when a transfer completes, capped at ten years in total, so you usually lose nothing by transferring and pay for the year you gain.
What it does not reliably move is everything else the old registrar was doing for you.
- DNS hosting. If your nameservers point at the old registrar, your records live in their system. Some registrars delete the zone when the domain leaves. Treat your records as something you must copy yourself.
- Email hosting or forwarding sold by the old registrar. That is a separate product and it does not follow the domain.
- Website hosting or a site builder from the same company. Same story.
- Privacy protection. It is usually a registrar service, so it is switched on at the new registrar, often for free.
How to move the domain without email or website downtime
The safe order is to move DNS first, wait, and only then move the registration. Do it the other way round and you are relying on two companies to hand over your records cleanly on the same day.
- Find where DNS is hosted. Look up your nameservers with any DNS lookup tool, or ICANN’s lookup at lookup.icann.org. If they belong to a separate DNS provider, not the registrar, your DNS is not affected by the transfer at all and you can skip to the transfer steps.
- If DNS is at the old registrar, export or copy every record: A and AAAA records, CNAMEs, every MX record, and every TXT record. The TXT records are the ones people forget, and they include SPF, DKIM, DMARC and the verification records for Google, Microsoft and others.
- Recreate every record at the DNS host you will use going forward, which can be the new registrar or a separate DNS provider. Compare the two lists line by line.
- Change the nameservers at the old registrar to point at the new DNS host. This is the moment of switchover, and because the records are identical, nobody should notice.
- Wait at least a day or two and test. Send email to yourself from an outside account, load the website, and confirm the nameserver lookup shows the new values.
- Only now start the registrar transfer below.
The transfer, step by step
- At the current registrar, turn off the transfer lock. It may be called registrar lock, domain lock or transfer lock. ICANN requires registrars to give you a reasonable way to remove it.
- Request the authorization code, also called the auth code, EPP code or transfer code. Many registrars let you generate it yourself. If yours does not, ICANN’s policy requires it to provide the code within five calendar days of your request.
- At the new registrar, start a transfer, enter the domain and the auth code, and pay for the transfer, which normally includes the extra year.
- Watch your inbox. You may be asked to confirm the transfer, and the old registrar may send a notice letting you approve or reject it. If you approve at the old registrar, it usually completes faster.
- If the old registrar does not respond, the registry completes the transfer by default after five calendar days, unless the old registrar actively refuses it.
- When it completes, check the new registrar account: nameservers unchanged, lock back on, auto-renew on, a payment method that is yours, and two-factor authentication enabled.
Common reasons a transfer fails
- The domain is inside one of the 60-day windows above.
- The transfer lock is still on, or the auth code was mistyped or has been regenerated since you copied it.
- The domain has expired or is in a dispute.
- Confirmation emails went to an address nobody reads.
Your registrar is not allowed to refuse the transfer just because you owe it a transfer fee, but it can refuse for the reasons the policy lists. If you believe a refusal is wrong, ICANN publishes a complaint process. If the refusal is part of a wider disagreement over who owns the domain, that is a legal question and a lawyer is the right next step.
What to do next
Copy your DNS records today, whether or not you plan to transfer. It costs ten minutes and it is the one thing you cannot rebuild from memory. Then pick the registrar you want to be with for the long term, move DNS first, and transfer once email has run cleanly for a couple of days.
If you would rather not do it yourself, we move domains for Central Florida businesses as part of setting up client-owned accounts, with the registration in your name and your billing at the end.
Questions
How long does a domain transfer take?
Once you start it at the new registrar with a valid auth code, the registry completes it by default after five calendar days unless the old registrar refuses it, and often faster if you approve it at the old registrar. Getting the auth code can itself take up to five calendar days if your registrar does not let you generate it.
Why can’t I transfer my domain? It says 60 days.
ICANN policy lets a registrar deny a transfer within 60 days of registration or a previous transfer, and requires a 60-day lock after a change of registrant unless you opted out beforehand. Wait out the window or ask your registrar whether an opt-out applies.
Will transferring my domain break my email?
Only if your DNS records are lost. If your nameservers point at the old registrar, copy every record, recreate them at the new DNS host, switch nameservers and test before starting the transfer. If DNS is already with a separate provider, the transfer does not touch it.
Do I lose the time left on my registration when I transfer?
No. For generic domains like .com, ICANN policy adds one year to the existing registration when a transfer completes, up to a ten-year maximum. Country-code domains can follow different rules.
What is an EPP or auth code?
It is the authorization code that proves you approve moving the domain to another registrar. You get it from your current registrar, often by generating it yourself, and the registrar must provide it within five calendar days if you have to ask. Keep it private.