How to transfer a domain to another registrar

What is domain transfer and what are its peculiarities

Domain transfer is the process of moving a domain name registration from one registrar to another. When you transfer a domain, you actually change the company through which your domain name is managed, but you keep the domain name itself and its settings.

The purpose that will encourage you to transfer your domain to another registrar may be: 

• cost reduction;
• improved service;
• changing the terms of your contract with your current registrar or terminating your current registrar.

First of all, it is important to know how long it takes to transfer a domain. Keep in mind that domain transfer to another registrar takes on average 2-4 working days (maximum 7 days). As a rule, during this time the site remains up and running. But, depending on the current registrar, the web resource may stop working for some time due to the fact that the old DNS records are deleted instantly, and the changes have not yet taken effect. Therefore, before transferring a domain to another registrar, we recommend asking other users about the experience of transferring from a particular company.

You should also know that it is not always possible to transfer a domain from one registrar to another, because there are some restrictions:

• Less than 60 days have passed since the registration or the last transfer (for international domains) or less than 7 days (for Ukrainian domains).
• The domain registration period has expired.
• There are 30 days or less until the end of the domain delegation period.
• The domain is in Hold, Redemption Period or Pending Delete status.
• If you specified incorrect email or other personal data when registering the domain.

Stages of domain transfer to another registrar

In general, the domain transfer procedure is quite simple and consists of two stages: preparing for the transfer on the side of the old registrar and making an application on the side of the new registrar. 

Please note that during the domain transfer it is important not to change basic settings (e.g. DNS records), as this may result in temporary unavailability of your website or email.

1. Preparing for the transfer on the old registrar's side.

At this stage you will receive a domain transfer code (authorisation code, EPP code or AUTH CODE). This is a unique code that is generated by the current registrar and is used to confirm your desire to transfer the domain.

The sequence of actions to obtain the EPP code is as follows:

1. Go to the personal account of the current registrar. If you have forgotten your login details, see the instructions* below.
2. In your personal account, find the “My Domains” section (or something similar), which is usually located in the “Services”, “My Services”, etc. category.
3. Then select the “Domain Transfer” service (or “Transfer”, “Move”, depending on your current registrar). 
4. Fill in the form with contact details for sending the transfer information and the name of the domain itself, as well as the method of receiving the transfer code.

After the actions are completed, the registrar will send you the EPP code by the method specified in the application.

*Procedure in case of domain access loss

If you registered a domain name for yourself, but do not remember the email and other data that were used, you can look at the contacts specified during registration with the help of any WHOIS service. After that you can apply for restoring access. But you must have access to the phone number and email specified during registration. 

If the domain is registered to someone else or to an external company, the issue of access must be resolved directly with them.

2. Registration of the transfer application with the new registrar.

At this stage you need to:

1. Apply to a new registrar with the intention to transfer the domain. If you choose Maxnet as your new registrar, you can apply for transfer on our website in the “Domain Transfer” section. To do this, you need to specify your name, domain, email address and phone number in a special form. 
2. After you send the application, the system will analyse the domain name. If everything is normal, you will be asked to enter the transfer code. Upon completion of its entry, an invoice will be generated, after payment of which the transfer is carried out.
3. After the transfer is completed, you will receive a message on the email specified in your personal account. 

After performing the above actions you get access to your domain through the new registrar and can use the site. We also draw your attention to the fact that after the transfer some domains must be renewed.