How Domain Transfers Work: Auth Codes, Transfer Locks, and Push vs Transfer

What is the domain transfer process?

The domain transfer process moves a domain name from one registrar to another, or from one owner to another. For a registrar transfer, you remove the registrar lock, get an auth code, and give the code to the new registrar. For an owner change at the same company, you usually push the name to the new owner’s account.

People use the word “transfer” for three different actions. Mixing them up is the main cause of delays in domain sales.

This guide covers all three. It also explains the lock rules that cause most of the confusion, and what ICANN has approved to change them. If the transfer is part of a sale, read how domain escrow works alongside this page.

What is an auth code and where do I get it?

An auth code is a secret code your current registrar issues to prove you control the domain. It is also called an EPP code, an authorization code, or a transfer code. The new registrar asks for it, and the transfer does not start without it.

ICANN’s registrant FAQ describes it as a code created by a registrar to help identify the domain holder and prevent unauthorized transfers. Where you find it depends on the registrar.

• Many registrars let you generate and copy it in your account. GoDaddy’s help page tells you to select the option to see the authorization code, and says it also sends the code to the registrant email address.
• Namecheap sends the code to the registrant email address from its Transfer Out section.
• Cloudflare generates the code in the dashboard after you remove the lock.
• If your registrar has no self-service tool, you must ask support.

ICANN’s Transfer Policy says that if the registrar does not provide tools to generate the code and remove the transfer lock, it must give you the code and remove the lock within five calendar days of your request.

Treat the auth code like a password. Anyone who has the code while the lock is off can try to move the domain. Send it only through the escrow platform or to the new registrar’s transfer form. See auth code and EPP in the glossary.

Why can I not transfer my domain for 60 days?

Because ICANN’s rules allow or require a 60-day block in several situations. There are really three different 60-day rules, and they are easy to confuse.

The first two are optional for the registrar, according to ICANN’s registrant FAQ. The change-of-registrant lock is the one that traps buyers and sellers. ICANN’s Transfer Policy text says the registrar may impose a 60-day inter-registrar lock after a change of registrant, and that it may let the registrant opt out before the change is requested.

How registrars apply it differs. GoDaddy’s help page says a domain cannot be transferred within 60 days of a contact info change if the current registrant opted to apply the 60-day lock when approving the change. That is a hint to check your registrar’s wording before you edit the owner details.

ICANN adds a practical tip: if your goal is to transfer the domain, finish the transfer before you change the contact information. For a sale, that means the seller should not update the registrant details just before the transfer. See 60-day transfer lock and change of registrant in the glossary.

Bundled domains have another rule. GoDaddy says domains that are part of a bundle cannot be transferred within 120 days of new registration. Check for bundle terms when you buy a name that was recently registered with hosting.

What is the difference between a push and a registrar transfer?

A push moves the domain between accounts at the same registrar, so it never leaves the company. A registrar transfer moves it to a different company. Push is usually faster, and it can finish a sale even when a 60-day lock blocks a registrar transfer.

Escrow.com says this directly. A buyer and seller can complete the transfer at the current registrar with a push, which is common when the domain is under an ICANN 60-day lock that stops a move to another registrar.

Registrars set the details. For example, GoDaddy’s account-to-account page lists these points:

1. In the seller’s domain portfolio, choose the domain and then “Transfer to another GoDaddy account”.
2. Enter the new owner’s email address, and optionally their customer number.
3. Choose whether to copy the current contact info to the new account.
4. Send the transfer request.
5. The recipient must accept within 10 days, or the request expires.

GoDaddy also says domains are not eligible if a contact update approval is pending, if they are within a day of expiration, if they are expired, or if another transfer is already pending. A push at another registrar has its own rules, so ask the seller’s registrar before you plan around it.

In practice, a seller at GoDaddy and a buyer who creates a free GoDaddy account can finish fast. The buyer can transfer the name to a preferred registrar later. This two-step approach is common in domain sales, and it is why we tell buyers to create an account at the seller’s registrar early.

How do I transfer a domain to a new registrar, step by step?

Follow this sequence. The steps are the same across registrars, with small differences in labels.

1. Check eligibility. Confirm the domain is more than 60 days old, has not moved registrars in the last 60 days, and has had no recent registrant change. Cloudflare’s docs list the same triggers, including a WHOIS registrant change in the last 60 days.
2. Update contact details first. Make sure the registrant email is one you can read. The auth code and approval emails go there. Fix it before you start, not during, since a change can trigger a lock.
3. Turn off the registrar lock. Registrars call it Domain Lock, Transfer Lock, or the clientTransferProhibited status. ICANN says registrars must give you a readily accessible way to remove it. See registrar lock.
4. Check privacy settings. ICANN’s FAQ says that since May 2018, a gaining registrar that cannot access the registration data does not have to obtain the Form of Authorization. Your registrar may still ask you to confirm by email.
5. Get the auth code. Generate it in the account or request it from support.
6. Start the transfer at the new registrar. Enter the domain and the auth code. Pay any transfer fee. Ask whether the transfer adds a renewal year, since registrars differ.
7. Approve the transfer. The current registrar will email the registrant. Approving speeds things up. If you do nothing, the registry’s default approval happens after five calendar days. ICANN’s Transfer Policy says a registrar that does not respond within five calendar days to the registry’s notice is treated as approving. Cloudflare says an unapproved transfer auto-approves on the fifth day.
8. Wait for completion, then verify. Log in at the new registrar, confirm you are the registrant, and set the lock back on.

The ICANN registrant FAQ also says the registrar may charge a transfer fee, but cannot deny a transfer because you did not pay that fee. See inter-registrar transfer for the definition.

How long does a domain transfer take?

A registrar transfer typically takes 5 to 7 days. GoDaddy’s transfer-away page says transfers typically take 5 to 7 days, and that approving the transfer helps. A push inside one registrar is usually faster. Escrow.com says domain transfers in escrow can take from a few minutes to up to six weeks.

Namecheap says it has five days to release a domain under ICANN’s Transfer Policy, which matches the default five-day window. Plan for a full week when you compare timing against a closing date.

What happens to DNS and email during a transfer?

A well-run transfer does not interrupt your website or email, because the DNS records stay the same unless you change them. The nameservers are part of the domain record, and a registrar transfer does not change them by itself. DNS is separate from who holds the registration.

Problems usually come from preventable steps.

• Registrar-hosted DNS. If your DNS zone is at the old registrar, moving the domain can leave you without DNS. Copy the records or move the DNS to a neutral provider first.
• Email on the domain. Make a list of MX, SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records before you start. Confirm they are in the new zone.
• Registrant email. If the contact email is on the domain you are moving, a mistake can lock you out of the approval emails. Use an address on another domain.
• Cutover timing. Avoid the week of a product launch or an email campaign.

ICANN notes you may avoid the transfer lock entirely by changing web hosts or nameservers instead of registrars. If your goal is only to change hosting, you may not need to transfer at all. See DNS propagation for why changes can look slow.

For a sale, the buyer should receive the domain with its DNS settings documented, or point the nameservers to a new host right after the transfer completes. Do not rely on the seller’s DNS after the domain changes hands.

What changes under ICANN’s new Transfer Policy?

ICANN’s Board adopted the Transfer Policy Review recommendations on June 7, 2026, and industry reporting says they replace the 60-day change-of-registrant lock with a 30-day lock on new and newly transferred domains. No effective date has been published. Until ICANN publishes one, the current 60-day rules apply.

Here is what we can say and what we cannot, based on the sources we opened.

Two cautions. First, the 720-hour detail comes from trade press on the working group’s report in 2025, not from the Board resolution text we read. Second, the final language will come out of the implementation team and may differ.

What this means for deals today: nothing changes yet. Plan around the 60-day rules. When ICANN publishes an effective date, expect registrars to announce it. We cover the change in more detail in our post on the transfer policy changes.

Can a registrar refuse to transfer my domain?

Yes, but only for a limited list of reasons. ICANN’s registrant FAQ separates reasons a registrar may deny a transfer from reasons it must deny one.

A few useful points follow from this list.

• A registrar cannot deny a transfer because the domain expired or was not renewed, unless a previous period is unpaid. If the domain is already in the redemption grace period, the current registrar must restore it first, which can cost a redemption fee. See redemption grace period.
• A registrar cannot deny a transfer for non-payment of its own transfer fee.
• A registrar must give a reason when it denies a request, except where required not to.

If you think a registrar broke the rules, file a transfer complaint with ICANN. Disputes between registrars over fraudulent transfers go through the Transfer Dispute Resolution Policy, which registrars file, not owners.

If a UDRP is the reason for the hold, read our guide on trademark and UDRP risk.

How should buyers and sellers plan a transfer in a sale?

Plan the transfer before you agree on a closing date. Most delays in a sale come from an unexpected lock, a missing auth code, or a registrar that needs days to respond.

Sellers

1. Check the domain’s age and registrar history. Look up the registrar and status in ICANN Lookup.
2. Do not change the registrant details just before the sale.
3. Tell the buyer which registrar you use, so they can open an account there.
4. Have the auth code ready, or know how to generate it.
5. Keep the registrant email working so you receive approval messages.

Buyers

1. Ask the registrar and any locks before you agree on a date.
2. Open an account at the seller’s registrar if a push is likely.
3. Decide where you want the domain long term, and plan a second transfer if needed.
4. Set up the DNS and email you need at the new home before the switch.
5. After the transfer, log in, update the registrant details, and turn on the lock and two-factor sign-in.

In an escrow deal, the escrow agent confirms the move before it pays the seller. Escrow.com’s concierge service can organize the transfer step. Our guide on how to buy a domain that is taken shows where the transfer sits in the full buying timeline, and how to sell a domain name does the same for sellers.

Next step

If you want a broker to handle the transfer details and the escrow, talk to Grit Brokerage about selling. If you are buying, see our buying domains page, or contact us with questions about a specific name.