How to Transfer a Domain Name?

There are many reasons why you may wish to transfer your domain name from one registrar to another. You may simply want to give away the domain to someone else or sell it to another party. Or you may just want to consolidate all your domains under one registrar and have the ability to administer multiple domains at once.

One compelling reason is the potential of making huge savings in domain renewal and related fees. Domain fees differ from one registrar to another. Some registrars charge over $15 per year for the renewal of each domain name. Yet others may charge just US$9.95 or less for the same domain. In addition some registrars offer a domain name plus webhosting bundle where the cost of domain name renewal is either free or reduced drastically.

There is yet another reason. Normally you have to pay an additional fee if you wish to keep your "whois" information private. Some registrars offer this is a free option when you register with them. All these can add up to a great deal of savings especially if you have a lot of domains.

Transfer v.s. Push Domain

When you transfer a domain the management of the domain is passed from one registrar to another. The ownership of the domain may or may not change. For example if you have accounts with two registrars, you can simple transfer your domains from one to another. You are still the owner of the domains (that is until you stop paying your renewal fees). With domain transfer a fee is usually involved.

This is different from push which is transferring the domain to another party (a friend or a buyer) who has an account with the same registrar (e.g. godaddy.com) as your domain. The process is much simpler. You can usually push your domain to another account from the control panel of your account. Usually there is no fee charged for a domain push.

Domain Transfer Rules

You cannot transfer a domain if you have just registered it or transferred it within the last 60 days. Your transfer request will not be accepted. You also cannot transfer domains that will expire within 15 days. You should transfers early to avoid this problem.

Of course, you cannot also transfer domains that have recently expired since you are no longer the legal owner of the domain. If your domain is expired, you must renew it with your registrar before initiating a transfer.

Steps to Transfer a Domain

Here is how to transfer a domain.

The losing registrar is the one where you are transferring the domain from. The gaining registrar is the one getting the domain.

You must first disable domain lock or domain protection on your account with the losing registrar. You must also disable domain privacy and ensure that your email address on file is accurate. Otherwise you will not be able to receive the verification email. And the domain will fail. You must also obtain the authentication code (EPP transfer code).

At the gaining registrar, either you (if you are simply consolidating your domains) or a third party (if you are giving the domain away or selling it) must log in to your/their account and request for a domain transfer and key in the domain name. You will need to provide the authentication code from the losing registrar.

Your current registrar will send you a confirmation email to confirm your intention to transfer the domain. You MUST respond to this confirmation email within 48 hours or your domain transfer will be rejected.

That's all you need to do! Once you approve the transfer and it has been completed, you or the third party can begin using the services at the gaining registrar. During this period which can take a few days, your domain name information (including DNS) remains unchanged so you will not experience any downtime.


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