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Domain transfer – to another registrar

Instructions on how to do a domain transfer from one domain registrar company to another. The exact look of each menu may differ, depending on the company, but the procedure and the principle are the same. A separate post explains what a domain is and how it is registered.

Note that a .uk domain transfer procedure differs from the one shown here. For that, read Porkbun’s knowledge base article on how to transfer a .uk domain.

For all the other domains, here’s a step-by-step tutorial:

Log into the old domain registrar user control panel and choose the “Manage Domain” option:

Click on “Manage Domain” Picture 1
Click on “Manage Domain”
Picture 1

Click on “Renewals & Transfer” – or find a way to navigate to the option for disabling private registration (Whois privacy protection) if it was enabled (which is recommended). Picture 2:

Disabling private registration (Whois privacy protection) Picture 2
Disabling private registration (Whois privacy protection)
Picture 2

Confirm privacy disabling and return to the transfer options (“Renewal & Transfer”, or similar). Now you should be able to turn off transfer protection and enable domain transfer. Picture 3:

Go to “Transfer” options (1) and now You will be allowed to disable the transfer lock (2) Picture 3
Go to “Transfer” options (1) and now You will be allowed to disable the transfer lock (2)
Picture 3

It usually takes a few minutes. After a while, you will see that domain transfer has been enabled. Click on an option to show the authorization code:

Click on “Show Authorization Code” and write it down Picture 4
Click on “Show Authorization Code” and write it down
Picture 4
Write down the authorization code Picture 5
Write down the authorization code
Picture 5

Now log into to the new domain registrar control panel and choose domain transfer option:

New domain registrar domain transfer options Picture 6
New domain registrar domain transfer options
Picture 6

Enter the name of the domain you wish to transfer and click “Transfer”:

Domain name and click on “Transfer” Picture 7
Domain name and click on “Transfer” Picture 7

Enter the authorization code that You wrote down (picture 5) and confirm the transfer:

Entering authorization code (1) and confirming transfer (2) Picture 8
Entering authorization code (1) and confirming transfer (2)
Picture 8

Another click to finalize the “purchase”:

Choose automatic registry renewal (1), privacy protection for Whois enquiries (2) and finlaize the “purchase” of the domain registration (3) Picture 9
Choose automatic registry renewal (1), privacy protection for Whois enquiries (2) and finlaize the “purchase” of the domain registration (3)
Picture 9

On the new registrar’s domain control panel see the list of your domain(s) and see the status. It will let you know when the transfer is completed:

Waiting for the transfer to finish Picture 10
Waiting for the transfer to finish
Picture 10

Old domain registrar will ask You to confirm the transfer. Mine sent an e-mail notification:

Accept (or deny) the transfer right away, or just wait for a week Picture 11
Accept (or deny) the transfer right away, or just wait for a week
Picture 11

Click in picture 11 took me to the old registrar’s control panel where, after accepting the transfer (“Accept”), the following note is displayed:

Notification by the old registrar that the transfer has been completed Picture 12
Notification by the old registrar that the transfer has been completed
Picture 12

Now, on new registrar’s control panel (picture 10), You can click “Refresh status”. Expect to wait for several minutes, up to a few hours, until the transfer is completed. After a while, the transferred domain will appear in your domain list, where you can mange it, renew it etc:

Transferred domain has been added to the domain list – job done! :) Picture 13
Transferred domain has been added to the domain list – job done! 🙂
Picture 13

That’s it, domain has been transferred! 🙂

Precaution: choose management options of the transferred domain (“Manage” in picture 13). Check if privacy protection has been enabled (usually says “Private registration”, or “Whois protection”):

Privacy protection is enabled (if it isn’t, enable it) Picture 14
Privacy protection is enabled (if it isn’t, enable it)
Picture 14

On transfer options (just like with old registrar), check if transfer lock is enabled, to protect your domain from unwanted transfer:

Domain (transfer) lock is enabled Picture 15
Domain (transfer) lock is enabled
Picture 15

Finally, check the domain expiry date. For domains You wish to keep, make sure that registration expiration is at least one year (or register them for several years in advance). That way, You won’t risk that in case of some credit card verification problem your domain renewal becomes problematic (don’t wait until the final month to renew).

Renew the registration of “important” domains for years in advance Picture 16
Renew the registration of “important” domains for years in advance
Picture 16

For domain registration, I use and recommend Porkbun (affiliate link).
– My Porkbun domain registrar review.


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