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Moving your domain to us puts your domain, hosting and email in one account, with one renewal date to remember and one place to ask for help. Your website and email keep working during the move, as long as you don't change the DNS at the same time. How you transfer depends on the ending: .uk domains work differently from .com and the rest.
Before you start
- Check the domain isn't about to expire. If it expires in the next week or two, renew it where it is first. A transfer can take a few days.
- Note your DNS records. Take a screenshot of the current DNS records at your old provider, especially MX and TXT records for email. You'll need them if you move the DNS to us later.
- Make sure the contact email works. Some transfers send an approval email to the domain's registered contact address.
Transferring a .uk domain
This covers .co.uk, .uk, .org.uk, .me.uk and the other UK endings. They don't use a transfer code. Instead, the current registrar changes the domain's IPS tag, which is the Nominet name for “who looks after this domain”.
- Place the transfer order with us: Transfer a domain. Enter the domain and continue to checkout. You won't be asked for a code.
- Ask your current registrar to change the IPS tag to
PDR-IN. Most have a “change IPS tag” or “transfer out” option in their control panel; others want you to ask their support team. - Once they've changed the tag, the domain arrives with us, usually within a day.
A .uk transfer doesn't add a year to the registration. The expiry date stays the same, and the domain renews with us when it's due.
Transferring .com and other endings
For .com, .net, .org and most other endings:
- At your current registrar, unlock the domain (turn off “registrar lock” or “transfer lock”).
- Ask them for the transfer code, also called an EPP code or authorisation code.
- Place the transfer order with us: Transfer a domain. Enter the domain and the transfer code, and complete checkout.
- If an approval email arrives at the domain's contact address, click the link in it to approve the transfer.
These transfers usually take five to seven days, because the old registrar is given time to object. Some registrars let you approve the transfer early from their control panel, which can make it same-day.
The transfer price normally includes a year's renewal, added on to your current expiry date, so you don't lose any time you've already paid for.
Why a transfer might be refused
- The domain was registered or transferred in the last 60 days. Registry rules block another transfer until 60 days have passed. This doesn't apply to
.uk. - The domain is still locked at the old registrar.
- The transfer code is wrong or has expired. Ask for a new one and paste it in, as codes are easy to mistype.
- The domain has expired or is in its grace period. Renew it at the old registrar first.
If a transfer stalls, open a ticket with the domain name and we'll find out why.
After the transfer
The domain keeps its existing nameservers, so your website and email carry on as before. When you're ready to look after the DNS with us too, follow Pointing your domain at your website and email.