Check nothing is blocking the move
Your registrar is the company you pay for the name. Log in there, or use lookup.icann.org to find out who it is if you've forgotten. The rules below come from ICANN, the body that sets policy for generic endings like .com, .live, .media and .church. Country endings such as .tv have their own rules, so check with the registrar for those.
| What's happened | What it means |
|---|---|
| You registered the name less than 60 days ago | Your registrar can refuse. Wait it out. |
| You moved it to this registrar less than 60 days ago | Same again: your registrar can refuse. |
| You changed the holder's name, organization or email in the last 60 days | It may be locked for 60 days, unless your registrar offered an opt-out and you took it before making the change. |
| A payment for this or an earlier period was never made or was charged back | It can be refused. Settle it first. |
| It expires soon | Move it well before the date. If it has reached the stage ICANN calls Redemption, it has to be restored first, often for a fee. |
Don't tidy your contact details now. ICANN's own advice is to finish the transfer first, because that change can start the 60-day lock. The exception is an email address you can no longer reach. Fix that first and accept the wait, or ask your registrar about opting out before you change it.
ICANN's Board adopted a reform of these rules in June 2026. It includes 30-day waits after registering or moving a name, and it drops the 60-day lock after a contact change. It still has to be put into practice, so plan on today's 60-day rules until your registrar says otherwise.
Find out who runs your DNS
This step is the one that saves your site. DNS is the address book that tells the internet where your website and email live. Your lookup shows it as a line called name servers. Look at the company name in those addresses and match your case.
- They belong to your website host, or anyone other than your registrar. Good news: the transfer shouldn't touch them. Leave them alone.
- They belong to the registrar you're leaving. Be careful here. Your records live with the company you're about to leave, so ask them what happens to those records when the domain goes, and assume the answer may be that they're deleted. Copy your records, then move the DNS before the transfer. Both steps are below.
- You're not sure. Ask us or your registrar's support. It's a common question.
Write down every record
Do this even if you think your name servers are safe. Open the DNS screen at whoever runs it and take a screenshot of each page. These are the records that hurt most when lost:
- A or CNAME records: where your website and any player page live.
- MX records: where your email goes. Lose these and mail stops arriving, often without anyone telling you.
- TXT records: proof your email is really from you, and any checks that other services asked you to add.
While you're there, look for extras that came with the name, like free email forwarding or a mailbox. These may stop when you leave. Ask, and set up a replacement first. Our website plans include mailboxes at your own domain, if you need somewhere for mail to go.
Move the DNS first if it's changing hands
Skip this if your name servers are staying put. If they're with the registrar you're leaving, work through these in order, with your records already copied:
- Set up the same records with whoever will run them next.
- Check for DNSSEC, a security setting some registrars switch on. If it's on, ask both companies how to hand it over, because a mismatch can stop your domain working for many visitors. If the two companies can't co-operate on that, the fallback is to turn DNSSEC off at the registrar and ask how long that takes to take effect. Don't change the name servers until it has.
- Change the name servers at your old registrar.
- If you turned DNSSEC off, turn it back on with the new DNS company once the change has taken effect.
- Wait a day or two, then check that your site and email still work. Only start the transfer once they do.
Changing name servers is a separate job from changing registrar, so do them on different days. If something breaks, you'll know which step caused it.
Unlock it and ask for the code
- Turn off the transfer lock, sometimes called registrar lock or domain lock. Your registrar must give you a reasonable way to do it.
- Ask for the code. You may see it called an auth code, EPP code or transfer code. It's the same thing: a password for moving the name.
- Make sure you can read mail at the contact address on the registration. If you use a privacy service, ask where transfer messages will go.
- Keep the code private, because it's what proves the move is yours.
If your registrar doesn't let you generate the code yourself, it has five calendar days from your request to give it to you.
Start the transfer with us
Go to our domains page and start a transfer with the code from your current registrar. Any time left on the domain carries over, so moving early doesn't throw away what you've paid for. The price for your extension is shown before checkout.
After that, leave name servers and contact details alone while the move runs. Your old registrar will probably email you about it. If you want it to go ahead, you can approve it, or just let the time run out: a registrar that doesn't respond to the registry within five calendar days counts as having agreed. A request to confirm from your new registrar is different: if one arrives, answer it, because the transfer can stop without it. If your old registrar's email arrives and you didn't ask for a transfer, say no at once.
Check your site and email afterwards
- Run your lookup again. The registrar line should show the new company, and the name servers should be the ones you expected.
- Open your website on your phone, using mobile data rather than your home Wi-Fi.
- Send an email to your domain from an outside account, then reply to it.
- Play your stream link or embedded player.
- Check the expiry date. It should not have got any earlier.
- Put the transfer lock back on, and if you use privacy, check it's still on. Now is also the time to make those contact changes you held back.
If the site breaks, look for a missing record first. Compare the live records with your screenshots, add what's gone, and give it some time to spread.
Push back if the old registrar won't let go
It's your right to move a generic domain, and the reasons a registrar can give for saying no are limited. It has to tell you the reason. These are the usual ones, and what to do:
| They say | What ICANN's rules allow |
|---|---|
| "You must renew first." | Not allowed for a future period, and a transfer can't be refused for a domain expiring, unless an earlier period wasn't paid. |
| "There's a transfer fee." | They can charge one, but they can't refuse the transfer for not paying it. |
| "We can't give you the code." | They must give it within five calendar days. |
| "It's locked." | They must give you a reasonable way to unlock it. |
| "You didn't reply to our email." | No reply from you is not a reason to refuse. |
Ask in writing first, quote the reason they gave, and keep the replies. If that goes nowhere, you can file a Transfer Complaint on ICANN's website. Some refusals are legitimate, such as a court order or a dispute over the name, and those have to run their course. Treat this table as a plain summary, not legal advice. If you're stuck, tell us what the registrar said.