Most domain transfers are boring, which is how they should be. The ones that go wrong usually go wrong for the same two reasons: the DNS records were not copied first, or the contact email on the domain was an address nobody can open any more.
First, understand what you are moving
Three different things get confused constantly:
- The registrar — the company the domain is registered with, and who bills you for it.
- The DNS — the nameservers that answer questions about where your website and email live. These can sit anywhere, independent of the registrar.
- The hosting — the server holding your files.
You can change any one without touching the other two. If your goal is only to move hosting, you do not need a domain transfer at all — you change DNS records. Knowing this saves many unnecessary transfers.
Before you start: three blockers
- The 60-day rule. A domain registered or transferred in the last 60 days cannot be transferred again. There is no way around this; plan for it.
- The registrant email. Approval emails go to the registrant contact on record. If that is a former employee or an agency address, update it first, at the old registrar, and note that changing the registrant can itself trigger a 60-day lock with some registrars.
- Expiry date. Do not start a transfer in the last week before expiry. Renew first, then transfer; your remaining years travel with the domain.
The safe order of steps
- Record everything first. Export or screenshot every DNS record at the current provider: the A records, the www record, all MX records, and every TXT record including SPF, DKIM and DMARC. This is the step people skip and regret.
- Recreate those records at the new DNS, exactly, before anything points at it.
- Unlock the domain at the current registrar and turn off privacy protection if it hides the contact email.
- Get the auth code, also called the EPP code or transfer key.
- Start the transfer at the new registrar, paying for at least one year, which is added to your existing expiry.
- Approve the email. If you do nothing, most transfers complete automatically after five days, but approving makes it immediate.
- Verify after it lands: open the website, send yourself an email at the domain, and reply to it. Check webmail logins still work.
What is different for .in domains
The .in registry has its own rules, and Indian registrars implement them slightly differently. The practical differences: auth codes are often generated on request rather than shown in the panel, the approval flow may rely on the registry’s own confirmation email, and some resellers require a written request. Budget an extra day or two for a .in transfer compared with a .com.
Whatever the extension, keep the domain in the business owner’s own account. A domain sitting in an agency or a freelancer’s reseller panel is a business risk, and we have seen companies lose weeks trying to recover one. Choosing a fresh domain instead? See how to choose a domain name.
Common failures and their fixes
- Website down after transfer: the new DNS never got the A record. Add it and wait for propagation.
- Email stopped: MX and SPF records were not copied. Restore them from your export, which is why step one exists.
- Approval email never arrives: the registrant email is dead or privacy protection is hiding it. Update the contact at the old registrar first.
- Transfer rejected: the domain is still locked, or inside the 60-day window.
- SSL warnings afterwards: the certificate is tied to hosting, not the domain. Reissue it once DNS settles.
How long and how much
A .com transfer typically completes in five to seven days, a .in in five to ten. Cost is one year of registration, commonly ₹700 to ₹1,500 for a .com and ₹500 to ₹1,000 for a .in, and that year is added to your current expiry rather than replacing it. There should be no downtime at all if the DNS was prepared first.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will my website go down during a domain transfer?
Not if you copy every DNS record to the new provider before the transfer and leave hosting untouched. Downtime in a transfer is almost always a missing A or MX record, not the transfer itself.
What is an auth code or EPP code?
It is the transfer key that proves you control the domain. You request it from your current registrar, then paste it at the new one. Codes expire, so use it soon after you receive it.
Why can I not transfer my domain?
The three usual reasons are that the domain was registered or transferred within the last 60 days, that it is still locked at the current registrar, or that privacy protection is hiding the registrant email so the approval never reaches you.
