Own your domain and transfer it to a new registrar

  • domains
  • dns
  • registrar
  • email

Updated

To transfer a domain name to another registrar, unlock it at your current registrar, get its authorization (EPP) code, and start a transfer at the new registrar with that code. Save a copy of your DNS records first so your website and email keep working.

Your domain, like yourbusiness.com, is in your web address, your email addresses, and every link people have shared. Owning it, and being able to move it, protects all of that.

Do you really own your domain?

You don't buy a domain outright. You register it with a registrar (GoDaddy, Namecheap, Cloudflare, and others) for one or more years, then renew it. If it lapses, someone else can register it.

  • Register it in an account you control, with your business as the owner and an email address you'll keep. A domain registered by a former designer or employee is one of the hardest things to get back.
  • Turn on auto-renew and keep the card on file current.
  • Pick a name people can say and spell: short, your business name if you can, no hyphens or unusual spellings. .com is still the one most people type by default.

Transfer, change DNS, or move hosting?

These are three different jobs, and most people only need one:

You want to Do this
Pay a different company for the domain itself Transfer the domain (below)
Point your domain at a new website host Change the DNS records or nameservers. No transfer needed.
Move your website to a new server Move the site, then update DNS. The domain can stay where it is.

Before you transfer

  1. Check the date. Most domains can't be transferred within 60 days of being registered or last transferred.
  2. Write down your DNS records. In your current registrar, find the DNS settings and save a copy of every record: the ones pointing to your website, plus MX and TXT records for email. If your DNS is hosted at the registrar you're leaving, these are what keep your website and email working.
  3. Check the contact email on the domain. Transfer approvals go there.
  4. Tell whoever manages your website, so they can watch for anything that stops working.

How to transfer the domain

  1. At your current registrar, turn off the transfer lock (often called domain lock or registrar lock).
  2. Ask the current registrar for the authorization code (also called an EPP code or auth code). It's the password that proves you own the domain.
  3. At your new registrar, start a domain transfer, enter the domain and the authorization code, and pay. For most domains, the transfer adds a year to the registration.
  4. Approve the transfer from the email your current registrar sends, if one arrives.
  5. Wait. Transfers usually finish within a few days to a week.
  6. When it's done, check your DNS records at the new registrar against the copy you saved, and add anything missing.

Country domains, like .ca or .co.uk, can have their own steps. Search your new registrar's help for "transfer a domain in" for its exact process.

After the transfer

  • Visit your website and send yourself a test email, both to and from your domain.
  • Turn the transfer lock back on and turn on auto-renew at the new registrar.
  • Cancel any leftover renewal at the old registrar so you aren't billed twice.

If your site runs on Dirigible

After any DNS change, use Send test email in Dirigible → Tools & Maintenance to check that form notifications and other site email still arrive. Look in the spam folder too. See Forms and email tools.

If you're moving the website as well as the domain, see Move a site or make a staging copy.