Domain Transfer

Domain Transfer

A domain transfer refers to the process of changing the designated registrar of a domain name. Once a transfer has been made, the new registrar will maintain all relevant information regarding the domain and the registrant. Domain names may be transferred only if they have been registered with the previous registrar for 60 days or more .

EPP Auth Code
There are several security measures to prevent unauthorized domain transfers. Many TLDs such as .com, .net, .org, .biz, .info, .de etc. stringently requires an authorization code in order to perform a transfer. This EPP Auth Code (or "Auth Info Code" in the case of .de) is basically a transfer password. The domain owner receives the Auth Code on request from his registrar / provider.

Transfer lock
It is possible to set a transfer lock for domains within some TLDs such as .com and .net. A transfer lock can be identified by the state ClientTransferProhibited in the WHOIS of the domain. Before initiating a transfer the domain owner must request his current registrar to unlock the domain.

Property situation of a domain
A domain transfer does not change the property situation of a domain. The WHOIS data and the nameservers remain the same and do not change automatically. Basically, a domain transfer changes only the registrar that is responsible for the domain.

DNS
If you still use the nameservers of your previous provider for the respective domain and if the provider delete the zone for the domain after the successful domain transfer, the DNS queries for the domain won't resolve any longer. This may lead to a failure of services provided under this domain for example a website and/or e-mail services. Please make sure that you take corresponding counter-measures to prevent such failures before you initiate a transfer.