Move your domain without losing a day of email
We move your domains to a registrar you control, using the right process for each extension and keeping your DNS running throughout.
In plain English.
.uk transfers work differently from almost everything else. There is no auth code. Nominet identifies each registrar by an IPS tag, and a .uk name moves when its tag is changed to the receiving registrar. Your current registrar can do that, or, as registrant, you can ask Nominet to change it. We then accept the domain on our side.
For .com and other ICANN domains the current registrar removes the transfer lock and issues an EPP auth code, a one-off password for the domain. We submit that code to start the transfer, which completes within five days unless the old registrar approves it sooner. A .com transfer normally adds a year to the expiry date.
Moving the registration and moving the DNS are separate jobs. Plenty of transfers go wrong because the old registrar also hosted the DNS and switched it off the moment the domain left. We copy every record first, so your website, email and verification records keep answering on the day the domain changes hands.
It suits you if.
- Your domains sit with a registrar you no longer want to use
- A former web designer holds the registrar account and you want it back
- You have .uk and .com names spread across different companies
- You are moving website hosting and want the domain in the same place
- Your renewal price has jumped and you want a registrar at fair cost
What we do.
Nominet IPS tag changes
We give you our IPS tag, help you or your old registrar request the change, and accept the .uk domain as soon as it arrives.
EPP auth code transfers
For .com, .net, .org and similar names we check the lock status and the registrant email, then submit the auth code and track the transfer to completion.
Lock periods checked first
ICANN rules can block a transfer for up to 60 days after a registration, a previous transfer or some registrant changes. We check before you pay for anything.
DNS kept running
We export the full zone before the move, so records held by the old registrar are rebuilt and tested before its nameservers stop answering.
DNSSEC handled carefully
If the domain is signed, we keep the DS record and DNSKEY in step through the move so validating resolvers do not start returning errors.
How it runs.
- 01
List what you have
We find every domain you own, who it is registered with, who the registrant is and when it expires, including names you had forgotten about.
- 02
Copy the DNS
Before anything moves we capture the full zone, including DKIM keys, SRV records and verification TXT records that control panels often hide.
- 03
Start the transfers
IPS tag changes for .uk names and auth code transfers for .com names, each tracked until the registry confirms it has moved.
- 04
Check and lock
We confirm the website, email and DNS answer correctly, turn on the transfer lock and auto-renew, and send you the summary.
Questions people ask.
How long does a domain transfer take?
A .uk transfer is usually done within a day once the IPS tag is changed and we accept it. A .com transfer can take up to five days, because the old registrar has that long to object, though many approve it within hours. We plan around the slowest case so nothing is rushed.
Will my website or email go offline?
It should not. The transfer changes who manages the registration; your DNS keeps answering if it is hosted elsewhere or copied first. The risky case is an old registrar that hosts DNS and deletes it on transfer, which is why we rebuild the zone before we start.
What does a transfer cost?
For a .com, the registry charges for the extra year added on transfer, which we pass on at cost. A .uk tag change normally carries no registry charge. Our own time is a fixed price agreed after a free call, based on how many domains you have and how tangled they are.
My old web designer will not reply. What can I do?
If your business is the registrant, you can ask Nominet to change a .uk IPS tag yourself, or ask a .com registrar for the auth code directly with proof of identity. If the designer is listed as registrant, that is an ownership question, and we help you work through it.
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