Move a Domain to a New Registrar
Moving a domain to a new registrar takes six steps: confirm the contact email, unlock the domain, copy the EPP auth code, order the transfer at the gaining registrar, approve the emails from both sides, then wait. Unapproved transfers complete automatically after five days. For gTLDs the completed transfer also extends the registration by one year.
A transfer guide for domain owners: eligibility clocks, the auth code, both approval emails, and keeping DNS alive throughout.
knowledge
- Read time
- 6 min
- Sections
- 9
- Updated
- 14 Nov 2026
- Written by
- WebJi® team
Last editorial update: 15 November 2026.
What actually moves when a domain changes registrar?
A registrar transfer changes one field in the registry — which company sponsors the name — and nothing else: the website, the mailboxes and the nameservers all stay exactly where they are. That is why a transfer needs no downtime: the name keeps pointing at the same DNS zone throughout, and the hosting account is never part of the order.
- Registrar: the company you pay, which holds the AuthInfo code. This is the part that changes.
- Registry: the database that holds the name. It does not change, and neither does the creation date.
- Registrant: the owner on record. Changing the owner is a separate transaction with its own 60-day lock.
- Nameservers: carried over unchanged, unless you deliberately edit them later.
Can the domain be transferred right now?
Three 60-day clocks decide eligibility: the name must be at least 60 days past registration, 60 days past its last transfer, and 60 days past any change to the registrant name, organisation or email — and a registrar may refuse inside each window. Run a WHOIS lookup and read the status line before paying for anything; one status code explains most refusals.
| Blocker | What clears it |
|---|---|
| Registered less than 60 days ago | Wait — no registrar can push a name through the registry lock |
| Transferred less than 60 days ago | Wait out the window, then order once |
| Registrant details changed recently | Wait, or ask whether the registrar offers the documented opt-out |
| clientTransferProhibited | Turn off the domain lock in the current registrar's panel |
| clientHold / pendingDelete | Settle the unpaid balance or restore the name first |
| redemptionPeriod | The current registrar restores the name, usually for a fee, then transfer |
| UDRP, URS, TDRP or court order | The transfer waits until the case closes |
If the blocker is clientTransferProhibited, the fix is a single toggle — the registrar lock guide shows where each panel hides it.
How do you prepare the domain at the current registrar?
Six preparations at the losing registrar, each with a visible result, so you are never guessing whether it took. Do them all before placing the order.
- Confirm the registrant and admin email addresses on the WHOIS record. You know an address works when a test message from another mailbox lands in it.
- Find the lock setting — domain lock, transfer lock or Registrar Lock — and switch it off. clientTransferProhibited leaves the WHOIS status line within minutes.
- Turn off WHOIS privacy if it replaces the admin email with a forwarding address; some registrars pass transfer mail on correctly, others drop it, and a dropped approval email stalls the order.
- Request the AuthInfo code (also called EPP code or transfer key). Under ICANN's transfer policy the registrar must provide it within five calendar days of a valid request — a longer delay is a policy breach, not a queue.
- Note the expiry date. A recently expired name can still move, but not once it has slid into the redemption period.
- Keep the old account open and paid until the transfer finishes. Deleting the name from the old panel cancels the move.
Why take a copy of the DNS records first?
Because the gaining registrar imports the nameservers, not the zone file — and if the current registrar also runs your DNS, those records are the only copy of how the domain actually works. Screenshot the zone or export it as a file, and keep it outside the registrar's panel.
- A and AAAA records, including the www host.
- CNAME records for mail, autodiscover and site-verification hosts.
- MX records with their priority numbers.
- TXT records: SPF, DKIM selectors and verification strings.
- SRV and CAA records — the two most often missed, and the usual cause of broken mail and refused certificates.
If you later change nameservers as well, the nameserver change guide covers the TTL step that keeps the switch invisible to visitors.
How do you move the domain to a new registrar, step by step?
Six steps, ordered once: a second order on the same name while one is pending usually fails with a duplicate-transfer error, and then you wait for the first to time out.
- Open the gaining registrar's transfer page, type the domain name, and paste the AuthInfo code.
- Read the price screen before paying: the fee, the years added, and whether privacy is included.
- Pay. The order now sits in pendingTransfer until approval arrives.
- Open the Form of Authorization in the registrant or admin inbox and confirm the request.
- Approve the confirmation from the losing registrar, or release the name in its panel, if you want it finished today.
- Check WHOIS again: the Registrar field should name the new company and the status should read ok. That is the finish line.
Which emails approve the transfer, and how long does it take?
Two emails from two different companies decide the outcome: the gaining registrar sends the Form of Authorization that starts the request, and the losing registrar sends a confirmation that can release the name early. Approve both — an approval sitting unopened is the most common reason a transfer looks stuck.
If the losing registrar never acts, the registry approves the transfer by default when the five-calendar-day window closes, which is why most transfers finish on day five rather than day one. If neither email arrives at all, check spam and the admin contact on the WHOIS record, then ask the gaining registrar to resend.
How do you keep the website and email running during the transfer?
A transfer needs no downtime, provided you leave DNS alone for the window: the hosting account, the certificate and the mailboxes are separate services that keep working while the registry record updates. Four rules protect that:
- Nameservers stay as they are — a transfer does not rewrite them.
- Avoid DNS edits during the five-day window; some panels restart a lock after a nameserver change.
- Cancel old hosting only after the site loads from the new server and a test email arrives.
- Keep the old registrar account paid — an unpaid previous period is a valid refusal ground once the name is on hold.
What about denials, fees, and expired names?
A registrar may refuse a transfer only for a short published list of reasons — suspected fraud, a dispute over who authorised it, an unpaid previous registration period once the name is on hold, a written objection from the owner, a lock, or one of the 60-day windows — and it must state which one applies. It must also refuse while the name is under a UDRP, URS, TDRP or court order.
Two fee situations surprise people. A losing registrar may charge its own transfer-out fee, but under the policy it cannot use a transfer denial as a payment-collection tool for unrelated dues. A redemption fee is different again: it restores a name that has already been deleted, and it must be settled before any transfer can start. If a refusal matches none of the permitted grounds, ask for it in writing and escalate to the registrar's compliance contact — ICANN runs a transfer complaint form for exactly that situation.
One useful rule from the same policy: for generic top-level domains, a completed transfer extends the registration by one year as part of the process, capped at the ten-year maximum. Country-code domains set their own rules, so check the extension's policy before assuming the same applies.
How does transferring a domain to WebJi® work?
WebJi® takes the order on the domain transfer page: send the domain name and the AuthInfo code, and the fee and the years added are confirmed by email before payment, so nothing is charged on an assumption. Transfers are billed in INR with a GST invoice.
Questions go to support@webji.services — staffed 24/7 in Hindi and English, with an average first reply under 60 minutes; the office phone is not a support line. Moving the hosting as well is a separate service, with free migration subject to terms and approval. If your current registrar is GoDaddy, the screenshots for its specific panel are in the guide to transferring a domain from GoDaddy.
Frequently asked questions
How do I move my domain to a new registrar?
Unlock the domain at the current registrar, switch off privacy protection if it hides the admin email, and copy the AuthInfo or EPP code. Order the transfer at the gaining registrar, approve the email from each side, and leave the old account open until the WHOIS Registrar field shows the new company.
Why can I not transfer a domain I just registered?
A registry lock runs for 60 days after registration, after the previous transfer, and after any change to the registrant name, organisation or email — the same ICANN policy allows the registrar to refuse inside each window. Wait it out, or ask whether the registrar offers the documented opt-out on registrant changes.
Do I lose my website or email when the domain moves?
No. A transfer changes the company that sponsors the name, not the DNS records — nameservers carry over unless you edit them, so the site and mailboxes keep resolving. Copy the zone first anyway, and only cancel old hosting after the site loads and a test email arrives.
How long does a domain transfer take?
About five days when the losing registrar does nothing, because the registry approves the request by default at the end of the five-calendar-day window. It can finish the same day if the old registrar releases the name from its panel, and it stalls until you act whenever a Form of Authorization is waiting in the inbox.
Does a registrar transfer add a year to the domain?
For generic top-level domains, yes — the completed transfer extends the registration by one year, capped at the ten-year maximum, and that extension is usually what the transfer fee buys. Country-code extensions set their own rules, so confirm the term in writing before paying. WebJi® confirms both fee and years by email first.
Last editorial update: 15 November 2026.
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