The most common worry is the right one to have: will this break my email? We check that before anything happens, and refuse to proceed when proceeding would break it.
The one thing that decides everything
Moving a registrar and moving your DNS are two separate things. Your registrar is who you buy the domain from. Your DNS is whoever answers questions about where your website and email live. They are often the same company, and they do not have to be. Enter your domain and we read the registry to find out which situation you are in.Your DNS is hosted somewhere else
Your DNS is hosted somewhere else
If your domain already points at Cloudflare, AWS, or another DNS provider, moving the registrar changes nothing about it. Your website and email carry on exactly as they are, and we will not touch your nameservers.This is the easy case and the transfer can start immediately.
Your DNS is at your current registrar
Your DNS is at your current registrar
If your domain uses your current registrar’s own nameservers, such as GoDaddy’s, then those nameservers stop answering once that registrar is no longer in charge of your domain. Your website and your email would go down with them.So we set your DNS up here first, let it settle, and only then move the registration. We will walk you through it, and the transfer is blocked until that is done.
Before you start
1
Unlock the domain
Almost every domain ships locked against transfers. Turn the lock off at your current registrar. While it is on, the registry refuses the transfer.
2
Get your authorisation code
Your current registrar provides it, usually called an EPP code, auth code or transfer code. It is often emailed to you rather than shown on screen.
3
Check your admin email is current
The registry emails the administrative contact on the domain to approve the transfer. If that address is old or unread, the transfer expires unapproved.
Two questions we ask
We ask these because the answers genuinely cannot be looked up, and each protects you from something specific.Have you renewed this domain in the last 45 days?
Have you renewed this domain in the last 45 days?
If yes, we will not start the transfer.A transfer adds one year to your registration and costs a year’s registration. But inside the 45 days after a renewal, the registry does not add that year, while the transfer still costs the same. You would pay and receive nothing.Wait until day 46 and transfer then.
Have you turned off the transfer lock?
Have you turned off the transfer lock?
While the lock is on, the registry refuses the transfer and the attempt is wasted.
Your authorisation code
Paste it into the field and we encrypt it immediately. We never show it again, and only the last four characters are kept so you can confirm you pasted the right one.What happens next
1
We send the transfer to the registry
A transfer costs one year of registration, and that year is added to your existing expiry date. You do not lose the time you have already paid for.
2
The registry emails you to approve it
The message goes to the administrative contact on the domain. Nothing moves until that link is clicked, and the request is cancelled automatically after five days.
3
Your current registrar releases it
They have up to five days. It usually completes sooner.
4
Done
The domain appears in your Connected domains list and we email you.
Things that do not change
- Your nameservers, unless you asked us to move your DNS. The registry keeps your delegation exactly as it was, and we check afterwards that nothing altered it
- Your website, which keeps serving throughout
- Your email, for the same reason
- Your expiry date, other than gaining a year
If a transfer fails
The most common causes are the approval email not being clicked in time, the domain still being locked, or a mistyped authorisation code. In every case your domain is unaffected and stays where it is. Fix the cause and start again.Domains we cannot transfer yet
A domain registered or transferred within the last 60 days cannot be moved again. That is a registry rule and it applies everywhere. We currently support.com, .net, .org, .co, .io, .shop and .agency.