Transferring a domain is straightforward. Transferring one without interrupting the website and email that depend on it is where it goes wrong.
Most businesses who’ve had a transfer go badly describe the same thing: the domain moved fine, and email stopped for a day and a half. That’s almost never caused by the transfer itself. It’s caused by the DNS being rebuilt at the new provider from scratch, with one or two records missed.
We move domains as a managed process, and the DNS is the part we take most seriously.
How we handle a transfer
1. We record what exists first
Before anything moves, we take a complete record of your current DNS — every record, not just the obvious ones. This is the step most commonly skipped, and it’s the reason transfers break email. Your MX records, SPF and DKIM entries, domain verification TXT records for Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, and any records added by third-party tools all get captured.
2. We prepare the destination before switching
The DNS zone is built at the new provider and checked against the original while your domain is still live where it is. Nothing has changed from the outside at this stage.
3. Unlock and authorisation
We obtain the authorisation code (also called an EPP or auth code) and confirm the domain is unlocked. For .uk domains the process differs — it uses an IPS tag change rather than an auth code — and we handle whichever applies.
4. The transfer runs
Your website and email continue to work throughout. A domain transfer does not by itself take anything offline, provided the DNS has been prepared properly.
5. We verify afterwards
Once complete, we check the domain resolves correctly, mail is routing, and your authentication records are intact. Then we confirm to you that it’s done.
Things worth knowing before you transfer
- There’s usually a 60-day lock after registration or a previous transfer. If you’ve recently registered or moved a domain, it may not be transferable yet. We’ll tell you the date it becomes eligible.
- Transferring adds a year in most cases. For most extensions a transfer includes a renewal, so you don’t lose the time remaining — it’s added on.
- Don’t transfer close to expiry. Transfers initiated in the final days before expiry can fail and leave you in the redemption process. If you’re close, we’ll renew first and move afterwards.
- Your losing registrar cannot refuse without reason. If a provider is being obstructive about releasing a domain you own, there are formal escalation routes. We’ve used them.
- You don’t lose the domain by transferring. Ownership is unchanged. Only the company administering the registration changes.
If your current provider has gone quiet
A common reason businesses come to us is that the agency or individual who registered their domains has stopped responding, closed down, or is holding the account hostage over an unrelated dispute.
This is more recoverable than it feels. If your business is the registrant on the domain, you have rights to it regardless of who holds the login, and there are established processes at both Nominet (for .uk domains) and ICANN-accredited registrars for regaining control. We’ll tell you honestly at the outset how straightforward your particular case looks.
Moving a website at the same time
If you’re moving hosting as well as the domain, the cutover is where the risk sits. We copy and test the site in full before anything is switched, then make the DNS change ourselves at a time that suits you — outside business hours if that’s better — and confirm mail routing is untouched. See our hosting service for how that works.
Get a transfer moving
Call 01202 835235 or email contact@domainwarden.co.uk and tell us where your domains are now. We’ll tell you what’s involved before you commit to anything.