> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.hiveku.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Transferring a Domain In

> Move a domain to Hiveku from GoDaddy, Namecheap or another registrar

Move a domain you already own to Hiveku from **Settings > Domains**, under **Move a domain you already own**.

<Info>
  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.
</Info>

## 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.

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="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.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="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.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Before you start

<Steps>
  <Step title="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.
  </Step>

  <Step title="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.
  </Step>

  <Step title="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.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Two questions we ask

We ask these because the answers genuinely cannot be looked up, and each protects you from something specific.

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="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.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Have you turned off the transfer lock?">
    While the lock is on, the registry refuses the transfer and the attempt is wasted.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## 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.

<Warning>
  This code is the key to your domain. Anyone holding it can move your domain to any registrar in the world, and with it your website and your email. Treat it like a password, and do not send it over chat or email.
</Warning>

## What happens next

<Steps>
  <Step title="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.
  </Step>

  <Step title="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.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Your current registrar releases it">
    They have up to five days. It usually completes sooner.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Done">
    The domain appears in your Connected domains list and we email you.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Warning>
  Do not re-lock the domain at your old registrar while the transfer is running. It is the most common reason a transfer fails partway.
</Warning>

## 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`.