How to transfer a domain safely, step by step

Transfers are blocked in a few predictable situations. Check these first.

This is the step people skip. Write down every record at your current registrar — especially the mail records, because losing those interrupts email long before anyone notices the website.

Recreate them at the new provider before the transfer completes, so the switch is invisible.

Turn off the registrar lock, disable privacy protection temporarily if the code cannot be delivered otherwise, and request the authorisation code. It usually arrives by email within minutes.

Submit the code at the new registrar, then approve the confirmation email. Most transfers finish within five to seven days; approving promptly at both ends often completes it the same day. Your remaining registration time carries over, and most extensions add a year on top.