Check the transfer lock and renewal rules before you pay. Moving the registration does not move your website or email hosting.
Check that the domain can move
Start at your current registrar: confirm the expiry date, access to the account and the domain’s transfer status. For applicable gTLDs, ICANN’s published policy allows transfer restrictions in the first 60 days after registration or a previous transfer. A change of registrant can also trigger a lock; ask about any available opt-out before changing contact details.
Check the rule for your actual extension, not just the registrar’s generic transfer page. Country-code domains can use different procedures. A change of account within one registrar is also not the same operation as a transfer between registrars. For a portfolio, record eligibility per domain: the fact that one .com moved successfully says nothing about a second name bought last week.
Compare the term, not only the transfer fee
Compare the transfer price with renewal at your current registrar, then check renewal at the destination. A cheap move can still be expensive to keep. Include tax, mandatory fees and any membership you would need to buy.
Many gTLD transfers extend the registration, but not every extension does. Namecheap’s published rules, for example, exclude renewal from .uk-family transfers. Its guidance also warns that transferring soon after an expired domain was renewed can lose the expected extra year. That 45-day caveat concerns renewal after expiry, not every renewal made during the previous 45 days.
.com, .uk and .it do not transfer the same way
There are two separate questions: what authorizes the change of registrar, and what happens to the paid registration period. Do not treat a field labelled ‘transfer price’ as an answer to both. Ask the receiving registrar for the resulting expiry date before moving a name with substantial time left.
Registro .it explicitly illustrates an expiry date calculated from a registrar change. That makes an early .it transfer a different calculation from a standard additive-year gTLD transfer. The registry date and your provider’s billing contract also need to be distinguished: record both rather than assuming a subscription invoice is the registry record.
| Extension | Authorization | Paid term to verify |
|---|---|---|
| Typical .com / .net | Unlock and an AuthInfo/EPP code, subject to transfer eligibility. | An extra year is common; check post-expiry renewal exceptions and maximum-term limits. |
| .uk family | Namecheap’s transfer route uses its registrar tag rather than an EPP code. | Namecheap states that its .uk-family transfers do not include renewal. |
| .it | AuthInfo from the current registrar; contact Registro .it if that registrar is unreachable or refuses it. | Registro .it’s FAQ calculates the year from the registrar change, not by simply adding a year to the old expiry. |
Prepare DNS and account access
Treat registration, DNS, hosting and email as separate services. Check whether your current registrar will keep providing DNS after the transfer. If it will not, prepare the replacement first; changing provider without copying the records can break the website or email.
Save a copy of your DNS records and check DNSSEC requirements with both providers. Keep access to an email address that does not depend solely on the domain being moved. Do not share an authorization code in a public support thread.
- Confirm the destination supports your exact extension and account region.
- Record the current nameservers, DNS records and expiry date.
- Check DNS continuity and DNSSEC handling before changing anything.
- Unlock the domain and request its authorization code when the extension requires one.
How long a transfer takes—and what to check afterwards
Start the transfer with the receiving registrar and follow the approval messages. Do not plan a last-minute transfer around an assumed instant completion: timing depends on the extension, approvals and any restrictions.
When it completes, verify that the domain appears in the destination account, the expiry date is correct and the website and email still work. Review renewal settings, payment details, contact information and transfer protection. Keep the receipt and completion notice with your domain records.
For transfers covered by ICANN’s policy, the registry normally completes the transfer unless the losing registrar rejects it within five calendar days of the registry request. That clock does not start when you put a domain in a shopping cart. Account checks, payment, a missing authorization code or a lock can prevent the request from reaching the registry at all.
Transfer stuck? Start with the status code
A checkout payment confirms an order, not a completed registry transfer. Keep the order number and look at the receiving registrar’s transfer status. If it reports a rejected code, obtain a fresh code and confirm that no spaces were introduced when copying it. If it reports a lock, identify the kind of lock before retrying payment.
ICANN’s policy requires an AuthInfo code within five calendar days of a request where no self-service facility is provided. It also addresses removal of the ordinary client transfer lock; this is not permission to override a separate mandatory restriction. If support declines a transfer, ask for the specific reason in writing before using ICANN’s transfer complaint process.
| State or symptom | What to check |
|---|---|
| clientTransferProhibited | Check the current registrar’s transfer-lock control. A separate eligibility or registry lock may still apply after unlocking. |
| serverTransferProhibited | Ask the registrar to investigate the registry-level restriction; a dashboard toggle alone does not remove it. |
| pendingTransfer | A transfer is already underway. Review its approval or rejection status before submitting another order. |
| redemptionPeriod | Arrange restoration with the existing registrar before attempting a transfer. |
| Website stopped working | Check nameservers, authoritative DNS records and DNSSEC separately from the transfer order. |
A repeatable transfer plan for a portfolio
Run a small first batch using a non-critical name from each extension or DNS setup you use. This is an operational precaution, not a registry requirement. Verify completion, the resulting expiry date, invoice, DNS continuity and marketplace settings before repeating the process across the portfolio.
Compare total future cost over the same end date. A lower transfer quote is not a saving if it removes prepaid time or requires a replacement DNS subscription. For domains tied to production services, decide who can respond if mail or DNS fails; do not schedule the move for a period when nobody can monitor it.
- Keep one row per domain: current registrar, registry expiry, transfer eligibility, DNS provider, destination and order status.
- Store AuthInfo codes in a private password manager or encrypted file, not in a shared pricing worksheet.
- Leave existing services available until the new arrangement is confirmed; do not cancel hosting just because registration moved.
- After completion, reconcile the portfolio against receipts and the new account, then review auto-renew and payment settings.
Put it into practice
Compare transfer prices Registration, renewal and transfer on the same board.Compare registrar policies Check privacy, payments and expiry-policy evidence.Found a policy change? Send a correction with the source so we can review it.
