Why and How to Transfer Your Domain to Illevante

A domain transfer rarely takes a site down by itself. What does is everything that comes along with it: a zone of DNS records hosted at the old registrar, which it deletes when the domain leaves, a DNSSEC-signed domain whose keys change without coordination, or a registrant email on the domain itself so the confirmation never arrives. A transfer between changes a single line at the extension’s registry: who is responsible for managing your registration. The , records, hosting and email stay as they are, unless you change them or someone deletes them. This guide explains how transfers work and what they require, how to move your domain without a minute of downtime, and what Illevante offers when you transfer to it.

01What moves and what stays

Here’s what happens to each part of your domain when it moves:

Item	After the transfer	Note
Who manages the registration	Changes to the new registrar	This is the transfer itself
Expiry date	Kept, with a year added in most generic extensions	Your remaining time isn’t lost
Name servers	Stay as they are	Unless you change them
DNS records	Stay where they are	Unless they were at the old registrar and it deleted them
Hosting and email	Unaffected	As long as DNS keeps answering
Privacy protection at the old registrar	Doesn’t carry over	Turn it on again at the new registrar if you want it

In generic extensions such as .com, .net and .org, a transfer requires renewing the domain for a year, added on top of the remaining term. So if your domain has 5 months left, after the transfer it is valid for a year and 5 months.

02Locks and the EPP code

Before the registry accepts a transfer request, it checks two things: that the domain isn’t locked, and that the requester holds the authorisation code.

Transfer lock

is a status your registrar sets on the domain, called clientTransferProhibited, and while it’s present the registry rejects any transfer request. You remove it yourself from your domain’s panel at the current registrar. If you see serverTransferProhibited instead, the lock was set by the registry itself, because of a dispute, a court order or a registry lock the owner asked for, and it can only be lifted by contacting the registrar or the registry.

Reading the domain’s status before a transfer: look for clientTransferProhibited

# The tools on Ubuntu or Debiansudo apt install -y whois dnsutils jq# The domain’s status, expiry date and current registrarwhois rihlat-aswan.com | grep -iE "status|registrar:|expir"# The modern way: RDAP straight from the .com registrycurl -s https://rdap.verisign.com/com/v1/domain/rihlat-aswan.com | jq ".status, .events"

In RDAP the same status appears as client transfer prohibited, and RDAP has been the official source of registration data for generic extensions since January 2025.

The 60-day rules

The transfer policy lets the current registrar deny a transfer in specific cases, the best known being:

A new domain: Fewer than 60 days have passed since it was first registered.
A recent transfer: Fewer than 60 days have passed since its last transfer between registrars.
A change of registrant: A material change to the registrant’s name, organisation or email triggers a 60-day lock, unless you opt out of it before the change.
Dispute or fraud: A pending UDRP complaint, a court order, evidence of fraud, or a written objection from the registrant.

This policy is under review: in March 2025 the GNSO Council approved recommendations that shorten the post-registration and post-transfer locks to 30 days and drop the change-of-registrant lock, but they don’t apply until ICANN announces an implementation date. Until then, plan around 60 days.

The EPP code

The , also called the auth code, is a password for the domain issued by your current registrar. The new registrar enters it in the transfer request, and the registry checks it. Treat it like a password: don’t paste it into a group chat, and request it when you’re ready to transfer, since some registrars give it a limited lifetime. And watch out for spaces and lookalike characters when you copy it; they’re among the most common reasons a code is rejected.

One person’s hand passes a set of keys into another person’s open hand across an office desk. — The EPP code works like the keys at a handover: whoever holds it can request the transfer, so ask for it only when you’re ready.

03Keep DNS alive: the step people forget

Before anything else, find out where your records are managed. There is one question that matters: do the current name servers belong to the registrar you’re leaving?

Taking inventory of name servers and records before a transfer

# Current name servers: do they carry the old registrar’s name?dig +short NS rihlat-aswan.com# Is the domain signed with DNSSEC? Any answer means yesdig +short DS rihlat-aswan.com# Inventory the main records before changing anythingfor t in A AAAA MX TXT CAA; do dig +noall +answer rihlat-aswan.com $t; donedig +short TXT _dmarc.rihlat-aswan.com

dig can’t list every subdomain or DKIM key, so export the full zone file from the old registrar’s panel. Then apply whatever fits your case:

Where your records live	The risk at transfer	What you do
At your host or an independent DNS provider	None	Leave the name servers alone until the transfer completes
At the old registrar, bundled with the domain	It may delete the zone when the domain leaves	Move the records to the new DNS provider and switch name servers at least two days before the transfer
DNSSEC-signed at the old registrar	Changing servers without handling the keys makes validating resolvers answer SERVFAIL	Remove the DS record, wait out its TTL, switch the servers, then sign the new zone

If you move your records to DNS Console, add all of them before you switch name servers, then follow the change with the DNS propagation check tool until the old servers’ TTL expires. We cover TTL and propagation in a separate article on the blog.

An engineer’s hand ticks items on a printed checklist beside an open laptop with a blurred screen. — The order is what keeps the site up: copy every record, switch the name servers, wait out the TTL, and only then request the transfer.

One last rule: don’t change name servers during the transfer itself. The registry usually rejects updates while the domain is in pendingTransfer status, and a change halfway through makes any fault harder to trace.

04The steps and the timeline

Once DNS is settled, the transfer itself is an administrative procedure:

01Check eligibility: 60 days have passed since registration or the last transfer, and more than 15 days remain before expiry. If 15 days or fewer remain, renew at your current registrar first; the time you pay for moves with you.
02Prepare the registrant email: Make sure you can reach the email address in the domain’s registration data, and turn off privacy protection at the old registrar if it hides it. If you need to change the email, opt out of the 60-day lock before making the change.
03Remove the lock and request the code: Remove transfer lock in the current registrar’s panel, and request the EPP code.
04Submit the request: On the domain transfer page, or in the Domains section of Illevante’s client area, enter the domain name and the code.
05Approve the confirmation: A confirmation message arrives at the email address in the domain’s registration data. Approve it to start the transfer.
06Wait for approval: In generic extensions the old registrar has 5 days to approve or deny for a valid reason; if it doesn’t respond, the registry approves automatically. A transfer to Illevante usually completes within 5 to 7 days, and may finish within hours if your registrar offers an “Approve Transfer” option and you use it.
07After completion: Check WHOIS for the new registrar’s name and the new expiry date, then turn transfer lock back on and enable auto-renewal.

Country extensions: different rules

ICANN’s policy doesn’t govern country extensions, and each national registry has its own procedure. .uk domains, for example, aren’t moved with an EPP code but by changing the registrar tag (IPS tag), and their transfer doesn’t add a year. Policies for carrying over the term also differ from one national registry to another: don’t assume the 60-day rule or the extra year for a country extension, and check its registry’s procedure before you start.

05When a transfer stalls

ProblemThe request was rejected because the EPP code is invalid: FixRequest a new code and copy it without spaces. Some registrars change the code each time you ask, so use the latest one you received.
ProblemThe request is stuck because the domain is locked: FixCheck the status with whois. If it’s clientTransferProhibited, remove it in the registrar’s panel; if it’s serverTransferProhibited, ask the registrar to have the registry lift it.
ProblemThe old registrar denied the transfer: FixAsk for the reason in writing: the 60-day lock, a recent change of registrant, or a pending dispute. Fix the cause, then resubmit.
ProblemThe confirmation email never arrived: FixThe email in the registration data is outdated or hidden by a privacy service. Turn privacy off, or correct the email after opting out of the 60-day lock, then resubmit.
ProblemThe site and email went down after the transfer completed: FixThe old registrar deleted the zone holding your DNS records. Recreate the records from your saved inventory at the new DNS provider, and point the name servers to it.
ProblemSome visitors get SERVFAIL after the server switch: FixThe old DS record is still at the registry. Remove it in the registrar’s panel, or add the DS matching the new zone’s keys.

06Why transfer your domain to Illevante

Everything above applies to any transfer. Here is what you get when you transfer to Illevante specifically:

Your remaining time is kept: Your remaining time carries over in full, a year is added for most generic extensions such as .com, .net and .org, and the cost is shown as soon as you enter your domain on the transfer page.
A team that transfers it for you: If you’re short on time, open a ticket in the “Domains” department of the client area: the team guides you to the transfer code, completes the process on your behalf, sets up DNS so your site and email don’t stop, and steps in if the registrar denies the request or the code is wrong.
Management in one place: Your domain and its related services in the client area, with tools for DNS records and domain settings, transfer lock, and the option to align its renewal date with your other services.
No hosting required: A transfer doesn’t require an active hosting account. And if you combine the domain with hosting at Illevante, the system links them without manual name server setup.

And check your current registrar’s policy: it rarely charges an administrative exit fee, but some do.

A support engineer seen from behind wears a headset and works at a desk with two blurred monitors. — If you’re short on time, a ticket to the Domains department hands the whole transfer, DNS settings included, to the team.

07Before you start

Order is everything: DNS first, then the transfer, then protection. If your records sit with the old registrar, move them and wait two days before requesting the code. Start the transfer at least two weeks before the expiry date, and don’t touch the name servers or the registrant data until it completes. And when the completion notice arrives, turn transfer lock back on at once: a domain left without its lock for no reason is an easy target for any hijack attempt.