How to Transfer a Domain Away From a Host

To transfer a domain away from a host, you unlock it, get its authorization code from the current provider, and start the transfer at the registrar you're moving to — which then adds a year of registration and completes in about five to seven days. The main thing standing in your way is timing: ICANN rules block transfers for 60 days after a new registration, a previous transfer, or a change of registrant. As long as you're outside that window and you can log into the account, moving a domain is a routine, well-defined process. Here's exactly how it goes.

Before you start: the 60-day lock

ICANN enforces a 60-day transfer lock after a domain is newly registered, transferred between registrars, or has its registrant contact changed. During that window, a registrar-to-registrar transfer is blocked at the registry level — you simply can't move it yet, though you can still change nameservers and DNS to point the domain wherever you want in the meantime. So if you just claimed a free domain with a new host, you'll likely wait out the 60 days before transferring it to your own registrar. Note the registration date, count 60 days, and plan the move for after that. If you only need the site pointed elsewhere sooner, changing DNS doesn't require a transfer at all.

Step 1: unlock the domain

In the current provider's domain settings, turn off the registrar lock (sometimes called "transfer lock" or "domain lock"). This lock exists to prevent unauthorised transfers, so it's on by default and you toggle it off yourself. While you're there, make sure the domain's admin email is one you can access, because the transfer process sends confirmation there. If the domain has WHOIS privacy on, you generally don't need to disable it, but a few registrars ask you to temporarily lift it during a transfer — follow the new registrar's instructions if so.

Step 2: get the authorization code

Request the domain's authorization code — also called an EPP code or, in newer terminology, a TAC (Transfer Authorization Code). It's a unique string that proves you're allowed to move the domain, and the two names mean the same thing. Under ICANN policy, the current registrar must give you the code and remove the transfer lock within five calendar days of your request, provided your account is in good standing. Some registrars show it instantly in the dashboard; others email it. Copy it exactly — it's case- and character-sensitive — and don't share it, since anyone with the code and an unlocked domain could initiate a transfer.

Step 3: start the transfer at the new registrar

At the registrar you're moving to, enter the domain, pay the transfer fee, and paste in the authorization code. The transfer fee usually equals one year's registration and, importantly, adds a year to your domain rather than being wasted — so you don't lose the time you've already paid for. You'll then get an approval email; confirm it to speed things along. If you're choosing where to move the domain, pick one with low renewals and free privacy — the options are compared in the best registrars for cheap renewals.

Step 4: wait, and keep your site up

A transfer typically completes in about five to seven days; the losing registrar can approve it sooner or let it run the full period. Your website and email keep working the whole time, because a transfer moves who manages the registration, not your DNS — as long as you don't change the DNS records mid-transfer, nothing goes dark. Once it's done, the domain appears in your new account; set your preferred nameservers or DNS there, confirm auto-renew is on, and re-enable the registrar lock for security. That's it: the domain now lives with you, independent of the host.

A transfer moves who holds the domain, not where the site points. Your DNS keeps working throughout, and the fee buys you another year — so moving a domain to your own registrar is almost always worth doing once you're out of the 60-day lock.

When you don't need to transfer at all

If your only goal is to move your website to a new host, you don't need to transfer the domain — just re-point its DNS at the new host and leave the registration where it is. Transferring is about changing who holds the domain, which you'd do to consolidate everything in your own account or to get cheaper renewals. Decide based on that: if the current registrar is fine and the domain is already in your name, a DNS change is enough; if you want ownership and low renewals in one place, transfer. Either way, our guide to getting a domain and hosting covers keeping the two cleanly separated.

What can go wrong, and how to avoid it

Most failed transfers come down to a handful of fixable issues. The domain is still inside the 60-day lock, so it can't move yet — wait out the window. The registrar lock is still on, or the auth code was copied with a stray space — unlock it and paste the code carefully. The admin email is outdated, so the confirmation never arrives — update it before you start. Or WHOIS privacy is hiding the contact in a way the gaining registrar can't verify — follow its instructions, temporarily lifting privacy only if asked. Give yourself a week, keep the DNS untouched during the move so the site stays up, and don't start a transfer right before the domain expires, since a lapse mid-transfer can cause problems. Handle those and transfers go through cleanly the vast majority of the time.