Domain Transfer Tips

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Domain transfers can be a real nightmare even for those that deal with domain names every day. But don't despair; here are some tips to help make your domain transfers a snap!

Tip #1: Make Sure You Can Transfer Out Your Domain.

There are many technical details which may prevent you from transferring your domain to another domain registrar. Here's a list of them:

- Make sure your domain is over 60 days old. Newly registered domains that are less than 60 days old cannot be transferred to another domain registrar.

- Make sure that your domain has not expired yet. While it is possible to transfer an expired domain name, your current domain registrar will most likely deny the transfer.

- If you have recently renewed your expired domain, wait 45 days before transferring it to the new domain registrar. While you are allowed to transfer the domain in this case, you will lose your 1-year renewal with your old registrar should you transfer your domain before the initial 45 days have passed. This is explained in detail within our Help section.

- Be aware of any additional rules enforced by your current registrar when transferring a domain from them to another registrar. Dynadot does not place additional restrictions, but other registrars may do so at their discretion!

Tip #2: Check Your Whois info.

Run a Whois lookup on your domain to check if the domain has correct and accurate contact information in the Whois database. If not, you will need to update your Whois information by changing it with your current domain registrar. Make sure the email address listed as the registrant or admin email address is an email address you have access to since all ICANN-accredited registrars are legally bound to send the transfer authorization email to that email address. You may need to remove your domain privacy or proxy service to ensure that you receive the authorization email.

Tip #3: Get Your Authorization Code.

Nowadays, almost every domain extension (sometimes they are referred to as TLDs) requires an authorization code before a domain transfer can be initiated. This is to help prevent random people from hijacking your beloved domain! Most of the time, this code (sometimes called a EPP code) can be found within your account at your current domain registrar. Some registrars, however, force you to ask them for the code directly before you can transfer away. If this is the case, give yourself ample time to retrieve the code before you submit your domain transfer.

Once you have your authorization code, you are ready to start your domain transfer! Keep in mind that some auth codes are only valid 24 hours after they've been released. Once those 24 hours are up, you'll need to get a new auth code for your domain. Man, what a pain!

Tip #4: Check Your Email.

Ok, so you've checked your Whois info, retrieved your auth code, and submitted your domain transfer. Everything should be good to go, right? Wrong. You still need to authorize the domain transfer by following the steps in the authorization email which is sent to the email address in the Whois lookup for your domain. This is to help your future domain registrar confirm that you are the registrant of the domain and you did authorize the domain transfer.

Tip #5: Unlock Your Domain.

Now that you have authorized your domain transfer, you can unlock your domain to allow your new domain registrar to initiate the domain transfer. Ideally, you would do this once you have submitted your transfer order to your new registrar so that the transfer is initiated soon after you've unlocked it. This also minimizes the amount of time your domain stays unlocked to prevent anyone else from trying to transfer your domain.

Tip #6: Look for the "Transfer has been Initiated" Email.

This is the email that tells you that your domain transfer has actually started and will complete, at the latest, 6 days after the day the email was sent. At this point, all you need to do is monitor your email to see if either registrar sends you an email indicating something went wrong with the transfer.

Sometimes the losing registrar asks for a last email confirmation before approving a transfer. While you could ignore that email and choose to wait for the 6 days to pass, it's best to follow the steps in that email to help finish transfer quickly.

Ready to transfer a domain to Dynadot? Submit a domain transfer order.

Additional information:
- Different central registries may have different transfer periods and/or rules. Try to find out about them ahead of time. You may also want to see our Service Agreement for more information about the various domain extensions we support.

- UK transfers are different from other domain transfers. They involve changing the ID of the domain registrar for that UK domain. More information about UK transfers can be found in our Help section.

- WS domains cannot be transferred to another domain registrar. For some reason, the WS central registry simply does not allow domain transfers. So be careful where you register them!

Source:

Domain Transfer Tips - Dynadot LLC