Transferring Domain Name Between Registrars
58Transferring domain name between registrars isn’t really a difficult process. All you need to do is select to sign up for a domain name at your favored registrar. Instead of opting to register a new domain name, choose the option to transfer an existing domain name. As you confirm the transfer application by making an initial payment (often equivalent to the domain’s one year registration), your favored registrar will send the Initial Authorization for Registrar Transfer form to your old registrar. Your old registrar has five days to confirm the transfer of your domain, and they usually take the whole five days.
Within the five-day period, you will need to confirm the transfer by approving the Confirmation of Registrar Transfer Request form sent by your old registrar. Through this window period, your old registrar will give you a chance to change your mind about the transfer. At the same time, your old registrar can choose to dispute your transfer request.
However, if it’s all-systems-go to transfer your domain name, approving the Confirmation of Registrar Transfer Request form will give your access to your domain name’s Auth-Info Code. The Auth-Info Code is required to finalize transferring domain name between registrars. Most registrars will allow you to generate and manage your own Auth-Info Code; while a few will insist on you contacting directly just to get the code. Once you have the code, log onto your preferred registrar and then update your listing with the Auth-Info code. This is the last step in the domain transfer – your domain name now has a new home.
You may encounter some snags through the whole process. Here are some tips to avoid them:
- Make sure that your domain name is at least sixty-days old with your old domain. You are not allowed to transfer domain that hasn’t stayed at least sixty days with a registrar. Doing so is doubtful internet practice.
- Before you transfer your domain name, make sure to unlock your domain. The common practice of registration companies is to default your domain’s settings to Registrar Lock. You can manually unlock this via your registrar’s control panel. Just log in and select your domain name. Select the unlock option. Wait at least twenty-four hours for the registrar to update its listing. Only then is it safe to initiate a transfer through another registrar company.
- Some registrars charge you for transferring your domain. Note that by ICANN policy, they are authorized to do so. Do not be surprised when you see a bill.
- Apart from the sixty-day waiting period for domain name transfers, your old registrar can dispute your transfer request for the following reason: evidence of fraud, court order, and Uniform Domain-Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) action. These are unusual circumstances that Average Joe and Average Jill don’t often need to deal with. But then again, make sure that your domain name is in the clear.
- Registrars may also refuse transfers if you owed them money or if you are not the listed owner of the domain. Make sure that your account is up-to-date. All balances are paid; and you have updated the domain name’s registration information.
