Transferring a domain between registrars is one of those tasks that looks straightforward until something goes wrong. With Namecheap, transferring is easy. You see, a locked domain, an outdated registrant email, a WHOIS privacy setting blocking the approval — any one of these can stall the process for days. Done correctly, though, the whole operation takes under 30 minutes of active effort and completes within a week.
This guide covers every stage of the transfer in detail. It explains the pre-transfer checks, walks through each step at both your current registrar and at Namecheap, and covers the issues that most commonly cause transfers to fail or stall.
What Actually Happens During a Domain Transfer
Before getting into the steps, it helps to understand what a domain transfer involves at a technical level.
A domain transfer moves the registrar of record for your domain from one ICANN-accredited company to another. The domain name itself does not change. Your DNS records do not automatically change. Your website does not automatically migrate. The only thing that changes is which company holds the registration and handles renewals going forward.
After the transfer is initiated at the registry level, the domain acquires a “pendingTransfer” status, and the previous registrar should release the domain within up to 5–7 calendar days. The full process — from submitting the transfer request to completion — can take anywhere from 30 minutes to eight days depending on the TLD and how quickly your current registrar processes the release.
One other thing worth knowing upfront: transferring your domain name will include a renewal for another year. So if your domain is due to expire on 1 January 2025, once the transfer is complete, the new expiration date becomes 1 January 2026. The transfer fee is effectively the cost of a one-year renewal at Namecheap’s rate for that TLD. You are not paying twice — you are paying for the next year of registration at your new registrar.
Stage One: Pre-Transfer Checks at Your Current Registrar
Most failed or delayed transfers happen because one of these prerequisites was not in place before the transfer was initiated. Work through each one before touching the Namecheap interface.
Check the 60-Day Lock Rule
Per ICANN’s policy on transfer of registrations between registrars, domains that are less than 60 days old, or were transferred between registrars within the last 60 days, cannot be transferred. You must wait at least 60 days before transferring. This rule also applies if you have recently updated the registrant contact information on the domain at some registrars — GoDaddy, for instance, applies a 60-day lock after changes to first name, last name, organisation name, or email address.
If your domain was registered or last transferred less than 60 days ago, you simply have to wait. There is no workaround.
Confirm the Registrant Email Address is Accessible
This is the most overlooked prerequisite, and it causes more failed transfers than anything else. During the transfer process, Namecheap sends an approval email to the registrant email address on record for your domain — not necessarily the email address you use to log in to your current registrar’s account. These two addresses are often different, particularly if you have WHOIS privacy enabled or if the domain was registered some time ago.
Before initiating a transfer, log in to your current registrar and check the WHOIS contact details directly. Make sure the registrant email address is one you currently have access to. If it is not, update it — bearing in mind that changing contact information may trigger a 60-day lock at some registrars.
Disable WHOIS Privacy
Many registrars route approval emails through a proxy address when WHOIS privacy is enabled. If this proxy is not forwarding correctly, or if it filters the approval email, the transfer will time out without completing. The safest approach is to temporarily disable WHOIS privacy at your current registrar before initiating the transfer.
At Namecheap (if you are transferring between Namecheap accounts or from a different domain you manage there), this setting is under Domain List > Manage > the toggle under the Domain column. At GoDaddy, it is in domain settings under Privacy. Most registrars place it in domain management or security settings.
You can re-enable privacy at Namecheap once the transfer is complete. Namecheap includes WHOIS privacy for free, so there is no cost to turning it back on.
Unlock the Domain
Every domain at every registrar is subject to a registrar lock by default. This is a security feature that prevents unauthorised transfers. Before a transfer can proceed, you must unlock the domain at your current registrar.
The location of this setting varies by registrar:
- GoDaddy: Domains > Manage > Additional Settings > Transfer Domain > Get Authorization Code (unlocking is part of this flow)
- Namecheap (if transferring a domain away): Domain List > Manage > Sharing & Transfer > Transfer Out
- Squarespace: Settings > Domains > select the domain > Unlock Domain
- Google Domains / Squarespace (post-acquisition): Manage > Security > Transfer lock
The unlock is usually immediate, though some registrars note it can take up to an hour to propagate. Do not request the EPP code until the domain shows as unlocked.
Obtain the EPP / Auth Code
A domain authorization code (also referred to as an Auth Code or EPP Code) provides an extra level of security for the domain name registration. This code is unique to each domain name and is assigned by the registrar at the time of registration. You need an Auth Code to transfer a domain from one registrar to another.
This code is required for most major TLDs including .com, .net, .org, .io, .co, .me, .ca, .biz, and .info, among others. The process for obtaining it depends on your registrar:
- GoDaddy: Domains > Manage > Additional Settings > Get Authorization Code. The code is emailed to the registrant address.
- Namecheap (transferring out): Domain List > Manage > Sharing & Transfer > Transfer Out. The code is sent to the registrant email.
- Most other registrars: Look for “Transfer Out”, “Authorization Code”, or “EPP Code” in domain management or security settings.
Auth/EPP codes are case-sensitive and may include all special symbols and characters. Copy and paste the code directly from the email or the registrar dashboard. Do not retype it manually — a single incorrect character will fail the transfer.
One edge case worth noting: Auth/EPP codes are periodically updated by registrars. In some cases, these updates may not be immediately reflected in the registry database. If you entered the correct code and the transfer failed, the Auth/EPP code held by your current registrar may not be in sync with the code at the registry. If this happens, request a fresh code from your registrar and resubmit.
Check the Domain Expiry Date
Do not initiate a transfer if the domain expires within the next 15 days. Most registrars will not process transfers for domains that close to expiry, and the combination of a transfer and a lapsing domain creates serious risk of losing the domain entirely. Renew it first at your current registrar, then transfer.
If your domain expired with your old registrar and you renewed it with them, do not transfer it within 45 days of the previous expiration date. Otherwise, an extra year would not be added to your domain name since the previous registrar revokes the renewal in such cases.
Stage Two: Initiating the Transfer at Namecheap
With the pre-transfer checklist complete, you are ready to start the process at Namecheap.
Step 1: Go to the Transfer Page
Log in to your Namecheap account. From the top navigation, open the Domains dropdown and select Transfer. This takes you to the transfer initiation page.
If you do not yet have a Namecheap account, you will need to create one before proceeding. The account creation process is straightforward and takes a few minutes.
Step 2: Enter Your Domain Name
Enter your domain into the search bar in the domain.tld format. Any protocol like https:// or subdomain like www should be removed. Click “Transfer”. For example, enter yourbrand.com — not https://www.yourbrand.com or www.yourbrand.com.
Namecheap will check whether the domain is eligible for transfer. If it is, you will see a confirmation and can proceed. If it is not — due to age restrictions, unsupported TLD, or another issue — Namecheap will indicate the reason.
Step 3: Confirm Eligibility and Enter the EPP Code
Verify that your domain is prepared for the transfer and tick the checkboxes next to the corresponding fields. Provide the Auth/EPP code.
Namecheap presents a checklist at this stage confirming the domain is unlocked, the EPP code is available, and the transfer requirements are met. Paste your EPP code into the designated field. Do not add spaces before or after the code.
Step 4: Add to Cart and Complete Payment
Add the transfer to your cart and proceed to checkout. The transfer fee varies by TLD. A .com transfer costs approximately $9.18 and includes a one-year renewal. Other TLDs are priced according to Namecheap’s current transfer rate, which you can verify on the transfer page before committing. The ICANN fee of $0.18–$0.20 is added on top of the base transfer price for applicable TLDs.
If you have a transfer-specific promotional code, apply it at this stage. Transfer codes can reduce the fee by 25–47% on supported TLDs. They must be applied before checkout is finalised — they cannot be applied retroactively.
Complete the payment. Your transfer is now queued.
Stage Three: The Transfer Process
Once payment is confirmed, the transfer moves to the registry level. What happens next involves your current registrar, Namecheap, and the registry — mostly without any action required from you.
The Approval Email
Shortly after initiating the transfer, an approval email is sent to the registrant email address on file for the domain. This is the address in the WHOIS record, not your Namecheap account email. The email asks you to confirm the transfer.
Approving this email accelerates the process significantly. If you do not approve it, most transfers complete automatically after five days — but waiting the full five days is worth avoiding if the domain is actively in use.
Check your spam folder if the email does not arrive within an hour or two. If the email was sent to a WHOIS privacy proxy address that is no longer forwarding correctly, contact Namecheap support. They can help you enter the EPP code manually through your account if the email flow is blocked.
Transfer Timeline
Your transfer will complete within 30 minutes to 6 days. The variance depends on the TLD and how quickly your previous registrar releases the domain. Most generic TLD transfers on common registrars like GoDaddy complete within 24–48 hours once the approval email is confirmed. Some registrars take the full five to seven days.
You can track the transfer status in your Namecheap account under Domains > Transfer. The domain will show a pendingTransfer status until the transfer is complete.
UK and Country-Code Domain Transfers: Different Rules Apply
Standard gTLD transfers use the EPP code and email approval flow described above. Several ccTLDs work differently, and it is important to know the exceptions before you start.
.UK domains (.co.uk, .org.uk, .me.uk) do not use an EPP code. Instead, to move a .uk domain to Namecheap, you must unlock the domain and change its IPS tag to NAMECHEAP-INC at your current registrar. You do this through your current registrar’s control panel or by contacting their support. Once the IPS tag is changed, initiate the transfer at Namecheap. These transfers are free of charge and do not include a domain renewal extension.
.ES, .FR, .CH, .LI, .DE and certain other ccTLDs have additional transfer requirements and in some cases cannot be transferred through Namecheap’s standard web interface. The TLDs .berlin, .desi, .hamburg, .kiwi, .physio, .ski, .es, .ch, .li, and several others cannot be transferred through the Namecheap website at this time and will need to be moved manually with guidance from the Concierge Team.
If you are transferring any ccTLD, check Namecheap’s TLD-specific transfer requirements page before starting the process. Attempting to apply the standard flow to a ccTLD that requires a different procedure wastes time and may require a refund and restart.
Managing DNS During the Transfer
This is where many people introduce unnecessary downtime. It is important to understand the relationship between domain registration and DNS.
Downtime happens only after the transfer is completed and only if the domain is using the default nameservers of your registrar. The nameservers of the domain will not be changed automatically after the transfer. The domain will stay pointed to the same nameservers to which it was pointed before the process. So, if the nameservers of your domain continue to function after the domain is transferred away from your old registrar, you are all set — there will be no downtime.
If your domain currently points to a hosting provider’s nameservers (such as those of a separate hosting company), those nameservers remain intact through the transfer. There is no disruption.
The risk exists if your domain is using your current registrar’s default nameservers. Once the transfer completes and the domain leaves that registrar, those nameservers may stop responding. To avoid this, if you are using your current registrar’s default nameservers and want to avoid downtime, Namecheap suggests setting your domain to use their FreeDNS service before initiating the transfer. Once the transfer is complete, the domain will automatically switch to Namecheap’s default nameservers.
One important constraint: once a domain transfer is initiated, it will not be possible to update the domain’s nameservers until the transfer is complete. If you need to perform any urgent DNS changes, make sure to do so before the transfer starts.
After the Transfer Completes
Once the transfer status updates to complete in your Namecheap account, a handful of post-transfer tasks are worth handling immediately.
Enable WHOIS privacy. If you disabled it at your previous registrar before initiating the transfer, re-enable it now in Namecheap. Go to Domain List > Manage and toggle WhoisGuard on. It is free for life at Namecheap.
Set up auto-renewal. By default, domains transferred into Namecheap may not have auto-renewal enabled. Set this in Domain List > Manage to avoid any lapse risk.
Verify the expiry date. Confirm the domain’s new expiration date reflects the one-year extension from the transfer. This should update within 24–48 hours of the transfer completing.
Update nameservers if needed. If you are switching hosting providers as part of this move, update the nameservers now via Domain List > Manage > Nameservers.
Check DNS records. If you were managing custom DNS records at your previous registrar and those records were hosted on that registrar’s nameservers, you will need to recreate them in Namecheap’s DNS management panel. Records managed by a third-party host remain unaffected.
Moving Domains Between Namecheap Accounts
This scenario comes up regularly for agencies managing client domains, or founders who registered a domain under a personal account and want to move it to a business account. This is handled as a domain push, not a standard transfer.
To proceed with a domain push, go to Domain List, click Manage next to your domain, open the Sharing & Transfer tab, find the Change Ownership section, and enter the email address or Namecheap username of the new domain owner. The process is free and does not require an EPP code. It also does not trigger the 60-day lock — you can push a domain immediately after registration or a recent transfer.
The new owner receives an invitation email to accept the transfer. If they have the automatic acceptance option enabled in their account settings, the domain moves almost instantly. DNS settings are not affected by the push.
Note that domain pushes are final without reversal. If you need the domain back, you must contact the new owner to reverse this action. Confirm the receiving account details carefully before completing the push.
Common Transfer Problems and How to Fix Them
Transfer rejected due to locked domain. Go back to your current registrar and confirm the registrar lock is fully disabled. Some registrars show a delay between disabling the lock and it taking effect at the registry. Wait an hour and resubmit.
Invalid EPP code error. First check that you copied the code exactly, including case and special characters. If the code is correct but still failing, request a fresh code from your current registrar. Codes are periodically rotated and the one you received may be out of sync.
Approval email not received. Check the registrant email address in your WHOIS record — it may differ from your account login. Check spam folders. If WHOIS privacy is active, the email may have been intercepted by the proxy. Disable privacy and request the approval email to be resent via Namecheap support.
Transfer cancelled by current registrar. Some registrars use dark patterns to slow transfers or require an explicit approval step that is easy to miss. GoDaddy, for example, sends a transfer cancellation prompt that looks similar to the approval — read these emails carefully. If you accidentally declined the transfer, restart the process from the Namecheap transfer page.
Transfer stalled in pending status beyond seven days. Contact Namecheap support via live chat. They can check the registry-level status and, if the previous registrar has not released the domain within the ICANN-mandated five-day window, can escalate accordingly.
Summary
Transferring a domain to Namecheap is a low-risk process when you prepare correctly. The steps that matter most are confirming the domain is at least 60 days old, ensuring your registrant email address is current and accessible, disabling WHOIS privacy before the transfer starts, unlocking the domain, and obtaining a fresh EPP code just before initiating the transfer.
The transfer itself is straightforward: enter the domain name and EPP code at Namecheap, pay the transfer fee, and approve the email that arrives at your registrant address. Most transfers complete within 24–48 hours. DNS continuity is preserved as long as your nameservers are hosted independently of your current registrar.
After completion, re-enable WHOIS privacy, confirm auto-renewal is active, and verify the expiry date. Those three steps close the loop and leave your domain in a stable state under the new registrar.
