How to Transfer a Domain Name to Another Registrar

Transferring a domain means moving its registration from one registrar to another. Done properly, it changes who bills you and where you log in, and nothing else: the website, the email and the DNS records keep working throughout. Done carelessly, it takes the domain offline, because one detail was overlooked: where the DNS is hosted.

This guide describes the process for generic TLDs (.com, .net, .org and the newer ones) under ICANN's Transfer Policy. Country-code TLDs have their own procedures; your new registrar will tell you what applies.

First, three different things people call "transfer"

You want to…	What it really is	Registrar changes?
move to a cheaper or better registrar	inter-registrar transfer (this guide)	yes
move DNS hosting to another provider	nameserver change — see changing nameservers without downtime	no
hand the domain to another person or company	change of registrant, often an account-to-account "push" at the same registrar	no

Moving a website to a new host is none of these; that is a change of A/AAAA records.

Before you start: is the domain eligible?

A transfer will be refused if:

the domain was registered less than 60 days ago, or transferred between registrars less than 60 days ago;
it is in redemptionPeriod or pendingDelete;
it is locked because of a dispute (UDRP, court order) or carries serverTransferProhibited for another reason;
the registrar has evidence of fraud, or there is an unpaid fee for a past registration period.

Under the policy in force for many years, changing the registrant's name, organisation or email can also trigger a 60-day transfer lock unless you opted out beforehand. ICANN has been revising the Transfer Policy, so details such as this lock may differ by the time you read this; ask the current registrar before editing contact data right before a transfer.

An expired domain can, by policy, still be transferred during the auto-renew grace period, but that is a stressful way to do it. Renew first if time is short.

Look at the current state before you begin:

$ whois example.com | grep -Ei 'registrar:|status|expir|creat'
Registrar: Example Registrar, Inc.
Creation Date: 2019-04-11T09:20:00Z
Registry Expiry Date: 2027-04-11T09:20:00Z
Domain Status: clientTransferProhibited

clientTransferProhibited is the ordinary lock you will remove in Step 3. What the other codes mean is covered in domain status codes.

Step 1 — Find out where your DNS is hosted

This is the step that decides whether the transfer is invisible or an outage.

$ dig +short example.com NS
ns1.example-registrar.example.
ns2.example-registrar.example.

The nameservers belong to a third party (a DNS provider, your CDN, your hosting company): nothing to do. A transfer does not change the nameservers.
The nameservers belong to the registrar you are leaving: its DNS service will typically stop answering for your domain when the transfer completes, sometimes immediately. Move the DNS first: recreate the zone at the new registrar or at an independent DNS provider, switch the nameservers, wait until that has settled, and only then start the transfer.

The same applies to anything else bundled with the old registrar: email forwarding, URL redirects, a site builder, mailboxes. Replace them before you leave.

If the domain is signed with DNSSEC and the old registrar hosts the DNS, the DS record needs handling as part of that DNS move. If DNS is external, the DS record normally survives the transfer untouched; verify afterwards.

Step 2 — Check the registrant email

Approvals, notifications and the auth code go to the registrant email address on file. Make sure it is a mailbox you can read, and preferably not one that depends on the domain being transferred.

Step 3 — Unlock the domain and get the auth code

At the current registrar:

Turn off the transfer lock. clientTransferProhibited should disappear from the status list within minutes.
Request the authorization code (also called auth code, EPP code, AuthInfo or transfer key). Some registrars show it in the panel, others email it to the registrant. The policy requires them to provide it within five calendar days and forbids them from refusing just because you are leaving.

Treat the code like a password. Anyone who has it, while the domain is unlocked, can start a transfer.

Privacy or proxy services generally do not block transfers any more, but some registrars ask you to disable theirs first. Follow the instructions of the registrar you are leaving.

Step 4 — Start the transfer at the new registrar

Order the transfer, enter the auth code and pay. For gTLDs a transfer adds one year to the registration, which is what the fee covers. The total term cannot exceed ten years, so a domain that is already registered for more than nine years ahead may be refused or not get the full year.

The domain now shows pendingTransfer.

Step 5 — Approve, or wait

The losing registrar must notify you and then has five calendar days to act. If it does nothing, the registry completes the transfer automatically at the end of the window. Many registrars offer an "approve now" button or link, which shortens the wait to minutes or hours.

If you see pendingTransfer on a domain and did not request it, this is the window in which you tell your registrar to reject it.

Step 6 — After the transfer

Run a lookup: the registrar name has changed, the expiry date is one year later, and the nameservers are the same as before.
Turn the transfer lock back on. Some registrars do this automatically, some do not.
Check the contact data; the new registrar may have replaced it with your account's defaults.
Enable auto-renew and two-factor authentication on the new account.
Re-enter DS records if they were lost and the zone is signed.
Expect a new 60-day transfer lock.
Cancel leftover services at the old registrar only once you are sure nothing depends on them.

How long does it take?

From minutes (if the losing registrar lets you approve immediately) to about a week (five days of waiting plus processing). Since nothing changes in the DNS, the duration does not matter for your visitors. It matters only if the domain is close to expiry, which is why you should not start a transfer in the last two weeks before the expiry date.

Common mistakes

Transferring while the old registrar hosts the DNS, and discovering it when the site goes dark.
Starting the transfer a few days before expiry.
Editing registrant details just before the transfer and triggering a lock.
Leaving the domain unlocked for weeks "because we will transfer it soon".
Sending the auth code around by email or chat and never rotating it.
Forgetting email forwarding or mailboxes that lived at the old registrar.
Assuming a renewal paid last week is lost. The year you paid for stays; the transfer adds another on top. (One exception: if you transfer within 45 days after an expiry auto-renewal, that auto-renewed year may be dropped and its fee is not always refunded. Ask first.)

Transferring .tr and other country-code domains

ccTLD registries define their own procedure. Some use auth codes and EPP like gTLDs; others use paper forms, registry-side confirmations or no "registrar transfer" concept at all, and many do not add a year. For Turkish domains, the registry is TRABİS and registrars are called KK (Kayıt Kuruluşu); see .tr domain registration rules and TRABİS.

Check it with OrbitProbe

Before and after a transfer, run the domain through the OrbitProbe WHOIS lookup. Before: confirm the creation date is more than 60 days old, the expiry date leaves enough room, and see which lock codes are set. After: confirm the new registrar, the extended expiry date, unchanged nameservers, the DNSSEC state and that clientTransferProhibited is back in place. Every result shows the source server and the time of the query, which makes a useful record of both states.