How do I transfer my domain name to a new registrar?

To transfer a domain name, unlock it at your current registrar, copy the authorization code, and give that code to the new registrar. Then approve the confirmation email. A .com transfer can take up to five days. Copy your DNS records before you start, or your website and email can go down during the move.

A registrar is the company where you registered and pay for your domain. What a domain is and how it works covers the basics.

Check whether you need a transfer at all

A transfer moves the registration of your domain from one company to another. It changes who bills you and where you log in to manage the domain.

It does not move your website. Your website lives at your host. If you want a new site to show up at your domain, you can leave the domain where it is and change the DNS records or nameservers to point at the new host. No transfer needed.

Transfer a domain when you want the registration in a different account. The common reasons are a registrar you do not trust, a renewal price you do not like, or a domain that sits in a former designer’s account.

Before you start

Work through this list first.

Find your login. You need access to the account that holds the domain. If you do not know who that is, look up the domain’s registrar and check which email address receives the renewal notices. Who owns your website shows how to check.

Check the contact email. The registrar sends the transfer confirmation to the email listed on the domain. If that address is dead, update it first.

Check the expiry date. Do not transfer a domain that is about to expire or has already expired. Renew it first.

Check the 60-day rule. For .com and similar domains, ICANN rules let a registrar block a transfer for 60 days after the domain was first registered. The same block can apply after a change of registrant. If the transfer fails, this is a common cause.

Copy your DNS records. DNS records tell the internet where your website and email live. Open the DNS settings at your current registrar and take a screenshot of every record, or copy them into a document. Pay attention to the A or CNAME records for your website and the MX records for your email. If the new registrar starts with an empty DNS zone, your site and email stop working until you re-enter them.

The steps

1. Log in at your current registrar and find the domain.
2. Turn off the transfer lock. Some registrars call it a registrar lock or domain lock.
3. Turn off any domain privacy service if the registrar says it blocks transfers. Many do not require this.
4. Request the authorization code. Some registrars call it an EPP code or transfer key. They usually email it to you or show it on screen.
5. Open an account at the new registrar and start a transfer. Enter the domain name and the authorization code.
6. Pay the transfer fee. For a .com, the transfer normally adds one year to your expiry date.
7. Watch your email for a confirmation message. Approve it. Some registrars also ask you to approve the transfer from the old account.
8. Wait. Many transfers finish in a few days. The limit for a .com is five days.

The steps for a .ca domain follow the same outline. Ask the new registrar for its .ca instructions, since the rules differ from .com. .com vs .ca explains the difference between the two.

What a transfer costs

The new registrar sets the price. Look at two numbers before you start: the transfer fee and the renewal price after the first year. Some registrars charge a low first-year price and a higher renewal. Read the renewal price on the checkout page.

Do not let the old registrar’s renewal date drive the decision. A .com transfer adds a year, so the remaining time on your current registration usually carries over.

What goes wrong

The site goes down. This happens when DNS records are not copied. Re-enter your saved records at the new registrar and the site returns once they spread.

Email stops. Business email depends on MX records. If you use email on your own domain, the MX records must match your email provider before the old ones disappear. Setting up business email with your own domain explains what those records do.

The transfer is rejected. The usual causes are a locked domain, a wrong authorization code, a domain registered in the last 60 days, or an unconfirmed email. Check each one.

Someone else holds the account. A designer or former employee may have registered the domain in their own name. You need them to unlock the domain and send the code. If they will not, the registrar’s support team can sometimes help you prove you are the owner. How to fire your web designer without losing your website covers this case.

After the transfer

Open your website on a computer and a phone. Send an email to your business address from another account and reply to it. Turn on auto-renew at the new registrar. Put the expiry date in your calendar.

If you plan to change the domain name or the site’s page addresses at the same time, set up 301 redirects before you move anything.

I do not have a way to know who holds your domain today. Look it up before you start. If you want me to check your domain and plan the move, book a consult and bring your registrar login.