What moves when a domain changes registrar
A registrar move changes one field in the registry: who sponsors the name. Unlock the domain, copy the auth code, order the transfer at the gaining registrar, approve the emails, and the registry completes it after five days. Website, mailboxes and nameservers stay put, because a transfer moves management of the name, not its DNS.
- Registrar: the company you pay and the one that holds the AuthInfo code. This is the part that changes.
- Registry: the database that holds the name. It does not change, and neither does the creation date.
- Registrant: the owner on record. Changing the owner is a separate transaction with its own 60-day lock.
- Nameservers: carried over as they are, unless you deliberately edit them later.
That is why a transfer does not take a site offline. The name still points at the same DNS zone throughout, and the hosting account is never part of the order.
Confirm the domain can be transferred
Three 60-day clocks decide eligibility. The name must be at least 60 days past registration, at least 60 days past its last transfer, and at least 60 days past any change to the registrant name, organisation or email address. A registrar may refuse inside each window.
Run a WHOIS lookup and read the status line before you pay for anything. One status explains most refusals.
| What WHOIS or the panel shows | What clears it |
|---|---|
| Registered less than 60 days ago | Wait. No registrar can push a name through the registry lock. |
| Transferred less than 60 days ago | Wait out the window, then order once. |
| Registrant name, organisation or email changed recently | Wait, or ask the current registrar whether it offers the opt-out some provide. |
| clientTransferProhibited | Turn off the domain lock in the current registrar's panel. |
| clientHold or pendingDelete | Settle the unpaid balance or restore the name first. A transfer order will fail. |
| redemptionPeriod | The current registrar restores the name, usually for a redemption fee, then transfer. |
| UDRP, URS, TDRP or a court order | The transfer waits until the case closes. |
If the blocker is clientTransferProhibited, the fix is a single toggle. The registrar lock guide shows where each panel hides it.
Prepare the domain at the current registrar
Do these six things at the losing registrar before you place an order. Each has a visible result, so you are never guessing whether it took.
- Confirm the registrant and admin email addresses on the WHOIS record. You know the address works when a test message from another mailbox lands in it.
- Find the lock setting, labelled domain lock, transfer lock or Registrar Lock, and switch it off. clientTransferProhibited leaves the WHOIS status line within minutes.
- Turn off WHOIS privacy if it replaces the admin email with a forwarding address. Some registrars pass transfer mail on correctly, others drop it, and a dropped approval email stalls the order.
- Request the AuthInfo code, also called EPP code or transfer key. The registrar must hand it over within five calendar days of the request, so a delay is a policy breach, not a queue.
- Note the expiry date. An expired name can still be transferred, but not once it has slid into the Redemption Grace Period.
- Keep the old account open and paid until the transfer finishes. Deleting the name from the old panel cancels the move.
Take a copy of the DNS records first
The gaining registrar imports the nameservers, not a zone file. If the current registrar also runs your DNS, those records are the only copy of how the domain actually works.
- A and AAAA records, including the www host.
- CNAME records for mail, autodiscover and any site-verification host.
- MX records with their priority numbers.
- TXT records: SPF, DKIM selectors and verification strings.
- SRV and CAA records, which are the two most often missed and the usual cause of broken mail and refused certificates.
Screenshot the zone or export it as a file and keep it outside the registrar's panel. If you later change nameservers, the nameserver change guide covers the TTL step that keeps the switch invisible to visitors.
Move the domain to a new registrar in six steps
Order once. A second order on the same name while one is pending usually fails with a duplicate-transfer error, and you have to wait for the first to time out.
- Open the gaining registrar's transfer page, type the domain name, and paste the AuthInfo code.
- Read the price screen before paying: the fee, the number of years added, and whether privacy is included.
- Pay. The order now sits in pendingTransfer until approval arrives.
- Open the Form of Authorization in the registrant or admin inbox and confirm the request.
- Approve the confirmation from the losing registrar, or release the name in its panel, if you want it finished today.
- Check WHOIS again. The Registrar field should name the new company and the status code should be back to ok. That is the finish line.
Approve the transfer on both sides
Two emails decide the outcome, and they come from different companies. The gaining registrar sends the form that starts the request; the losing registrar sends a confirmation that can release the name early. Approve both. An approval sitting unopened is the most common reason a transfer looks stuck.
If neither email arrives, check spam and the admin contact on the WHOIS record, then ask the gaining registrar to resend. If the losing registrar never acts, the registry auto-approves when the five-day window closes, which is why most transfers finish on day five rather than day one.
Keep the website and email running during the transfer
A transfer needs no downtime. The hosting account, the certificate and the mailboxes are separate services, and they keep working while the registry record updates.
- Nameservers stay as they are. A transfer does not rewrite them.
- Avoid DNS edits during the five-day window. Some panels restart a 60-day lock after a nameserver change.
- Cancel the old hosting only after the site loads from the new server and a test email arrives.
- Keep the old registrar account paid, because an unpaid balance is a valid reason to refuse the release.
Denials, fees and expired names
A registrar may refuse a transfer for a short published list of reasons: suspected fraud, a dispute over who authorised it, an unpaid previous period, a written objection from the owner, a lock, or one of the 60-day windows. It must state the reason. It must also refuse while the name is under a UDRP, URS, TDRP or court order.
Two fees surprise people. A losing registrar may charge its own transfer-out fee, and non-payment of that fee is not a valid reason to block the move. A redemption fee is different: it restores a name that has already been deleted, and it has to be settled before any transfer can start.
If a refusal matches none of those grounds, ask for it in writing and escalate to the registrar's compliance contact. ICANN runs a transfer complaint form for exactly that situation.
Transferring a domain to WebJi®
WebJi® takes the order on the domain transfer page. Send the domain name and the AuthInfo code, and the fee and the years added are confirmed by email at support@webji.services before payment, so nothing is charged on an assumption.
Transfers are billed in INR with a GST invoice. The mailbox is staffed 24/7 in Hindi and English, with an average first reply under 60 minutes. Moving the hosting as well is a separate free migration, subject to terms and approval. The office phone is not a support line.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I move my domain to a new registrar?
Unlock the domain at the current registrar, switch off privacy protection if it hides the admin email, and copy the AuthInfo or EPP code. Order the transfer at the gaining registrar, approve the email from each side, and leave the old account open until the WHOIS Registrar field shows the new company.
Why can't I transfer a domain I just registered?
A registry lock runs for 60 days after registration, after the last transfer, and after any change to the registrant name, organisation or email. Wait out the window or ask the current registrar whether it offers the opt-out some provide. Moving the hosting instead does not hit that lock.
Do I lose my website or email when the domain moves?
No. A transfer changes the company that sponsors the name, not the DNS records. Nameservers carry over unless you edit them, so the site and the mailboxes keep resolving. Only cancel the old hosting after the records have been copied to the new account and tested.
How long does a domain transfer take?
About five days when the losing registrar does nothing, because the registry auto-approves the request at the end of the five-day window. It can finish the same day if the old registrar releases the name from its own control panel, and it stalls until you approve if a Form of Authorization is waiting.
Does a registrar transfer add a year to my domain?
That is set by each registrar. Some bundle a one-year extension into the transfer fee, some charge the renewal separately, and prices for the same extension differ by thousands of rupees. Ask for the fee and the term in writing before paying; WebJi® confirms both by email first.
Can I transfer an expired domain name?
Yes. A registrar cannot refuse a transfer just because the name has expired or the owner has not renewed it. The exception is a name already in the Redemption Grace Period, which the current registrar must restore first, usually against a redemption fee.