Transferring a domain is a low-risk operation when you prepare correctly. Most people who run into problems skip a step at the beginning, not because the process itself is unreliable. A locked domain, an outdated contact email, a WHOIS privacy setting blocking an approval — these are the things that stall transfers or cause unnecessary downtime. None of them are hard to prevent.
This article gives you a complete pre-transfer checklist, walks through what can go wrong at each stage, and explains what to do when things do not go to plan. It applies to anyone moving a domain to Namecheap from another registrar — whether that is GoDaddy, Squarespace, Cloudflare, or anywhere else.
Why Preparation Matters More Than the Transfer Itself
The transfer process at Namecheap is straightforward. You enter the domain name, provide an EPP code, pay the transfer fee, and confirm an approval email. That part rarely fails on its own.
What causes failures almost always happens before you submit the transfer. The domain is still locked. The registrant email address is stale. WHOIS privacy intercepts approval emails. The domain was registered or last transferred fewer than 60 days ago. Each of these problems is easy to fix in advance and time-consuming to diagnose mid-transfer.
Work through this checklist before submitting anything at Namecheap. Tick every item. Do not skip steps you think are probably fine.
The Pre-Transfer Checklist
Eligibility and the 60-Day Rule
Confirm the domain is at least 60 days past its original registration date. ICANN mandates this waiting period for all gTLD transfers. There are no exceptions — if you registered the domain fewer than 60 days ago, Namecheap will reject the transfer.
The same 60-day rule applies after a previous transfer. If someone moved the domain between registrars within the last 60 days, it is locked again. Check the registration date and the most recent transfer date. Both must clear the 60-day mark.
Some registrars, including GoDaddy, apply a separate 60-day lock when you update registrant contact information — specifically the name, email address, or organisation. If you made any contact changes at your current registrar in the past 60 days, the transfer may be blocked even if the domain itself is old enough.
Domain Expiry Window
Check the expiry date before doing anything else. Do not initiate a transfer with fewer than 15 days remaining. The process takes up to seven days. If the domain lapses during that window, you face a significantly more complicated and expensive recovery. Renewing first at your current registrar protects the transfer from any timing risk.
Also worth noting: if you recently renewed a domain at your current registrar after it expired, there is a 45-day waiting period before you can transfer. Moving within that window means the renewal year may not carry over to Namecheap.
Registrant Email Address
Log into your current registrar and locate the WHOIS contact details for the domain. Note the registrant email address specifically. This is where the transfer approval email goes — not necessarily your registrar account login email.
Confirm you can receive email at that address right now. If the address is old, closed, or belongs to someone without current access, update it before proceeding. Be aware that updating contact information may trigger a 60-day transfer lock at some registrars. Check that policy before editing anything.
WHOIS Privacy
If your current registrar runs a WHOIS privacy service, it routes contact emails through a proxy address. That proxy often does not forward transfer approval emails correctly. Disable WHOIS privacy entirely before the transfer. You can re-enable it at Namecheap once the transfer completes — it is included free for life there.
Domain Lock Status
Every domain at every registrar locks by default. This lock — sometimes called a transfer lock or registrar lock — prevents unauthorised transfers. You must disable it at your current registrar before Namecheap can receive the domain.
The location of this setting varies by platform:
- GoDaddy: Domains > select domain > Additional Settings > Transfer Domain
- Squarespace: Settings > Domains > select domain > Unlock Domain
- Hover: Domain details > Transfer Lock > toggle off
- Most others: look for “Security”, “Transfer Lock”, or “Domain Lock” in domain management settings
After disabling the lock, allow up to an hour for the change to reach the registry level. Do not request the EPP code until the lock shows as disabled.
The EPP/Auth Code
The domain authorization code — also called an Auth Code or EPP Code — provides an extra level of security for domain name registration. This code is unique to each domain and the registrar assigns it at the time of registration.
Request this code from your current registrar after you unlock the domain. Most registrars email it to the registrant address on file. Some display it directly in the control panel. Auth/EPP codes are case-sensitive and may include all special symbols and characters. Copy the code directly — do not retype it. A single misplaced character or trailing space will fail the transfer.
EPP codes expire. Most registrars rotate them periodically. If you request a code and then wait more than a day before using it, request a fresh one immediately before submitting. A stale code is one of the most common reasons transfers fail silently.
DNS Records
Before starting the transfer, identify which nameservers your domain currently points to. This determines whether you face any downtime.
If your domain uses a hosting provider’s nameservers — not your registrar’s default servers — the transfer will not disrupt your site. If you host DNS for the domain with a web hosting company, those nameservers transfer over and there should not be any downtime.
If your domain uses your current registrar’s default nameservers, you face a real risk. Once the domain leaves that registrar, those nameservers may stop responding. If you use your registrar’s default nameservers and want to avoid downtime, Namecheap advises setting your domain to use their FreeDNS as backup nameservers before initiating the transfer. Once your domain starts using FreeDNS, initiate the transfer. When the domain completes the transfer, FreeDNS will automatically switch to Namecheap’s default nameservers.
Document Your DNS Records
If you manage custom DNS records — MX records for email, A records, CNAME records for third-party services — write them all down before the transfer starts. Those records do not migrate automatically. They live on the nameservers, not the domain registration itself. If your registrar’s nameservers stop serving records after the transfer, you will need to recreate everything at Namecheap. Having them documented means you can do that in minutes rather than hunting through old emails and service dashboards.
Also note: once a transfer is in progress, you cannot update nameservers until it completes. Make any urgent DNS changes before you submit anything.
What Can Go Wrong at Each Stage
At Your Current Registrar
Domain still locked. Disabling the lock at your registrar does not always propagate to the registry immediately. Wait an hour and resubmit. If the error persists, contact your current registrar and ask them to confirm the lock status at the registry level — there is sometimes a mismatch between what the dashboard shows and what the registry sees.
EPP code rejected. Copy the code again from the source and check for extra spaces at the start or end. If you entered the correct code and the transfer still failed, the Auth/EPP code held by your current registrar may not be in sync with the code at the registry. Request a fresh code and resubmit the transfer via Domains > Transfer in your Namecheap account.
Approval email never arrives. Check that the registrant email in WHOIS matches a live, accessible inbox. Check spam folders. If WHOIS privacy is still routing through a proxy, that proxy is likely blocking the email. Disable privacy at your current registrar and ask Namecheap support to resend the approval.
During the Transfer Process
Transfer stalls beyond seven days. Log into Namecheap and check the transfer status. If it shows pendingTransfer after seven days, contact Namecheap support via live chat. They can check the registry-level status. If the previous registrar has not released the domain within ICANN’s five-day window, Namecheap can escalate.
Transfer confirmation email looks like a cancellation prompt. Some registrars send a confirmation email that places the cancellation link prominently. GoDaddy has a history of this pattern. Read any transfer-related email carefully before clicking. If you accidentally cancel the transfer, restart the process from the Namecheap transfer page.
After the Transfer Completes
Website goes down. The domain was pointing to the previous registrar’s default nameservers, which stopped resolving. Log into Namecheap, go to Domain List > Manage > Nameservers, and switch to either Namecheap BasicDNS or your hosting provider’s nameservers.
Email stops working. Same cause — your MX records lived on nameservers that no longer resolve. Recreate the MX records in Namecheap’s DNS management panel using the records you documented before the transfer.
The Most Common Mistakes
These patterns appear repeatedly in failed or disrupted transfers. Each one is entirely preventable.
Leaving WHOIS privacy enabled. Privacy proxies your registrant email through an anonymised address. That proxy routinely drops or blocks transfer approval emails. Disabling privacy takes 30 seconds and eliminates the problem.
Using a stale EPP code. Requesting the code days before you plan to transfer and then using it later is a reliable way to get an invalid code error. Request the code on the same day you submit the transfer.
Updating registrant contact details within 60 days of transfer. Changing your name, email, or organisation at registrars that enforce a contact-change lock triggers a new 60-day restriction. If you need to update contact information, do it well in advance of any planned transfer.
Transferring while the domain uses the registrar’s default nameservers without switching first. This mistake causes website and email outages. Switch to your hosting provider’s nameservers or enrol in Namecheap’s FreeDNS before you submit the transfer. After you initiate it, you cannot change nameservers until it finishes.
Not documenting DNS records. Custom DNS records do not follow the domain automatically. Without a record of your configuration, rebuilding it after the transfer means hunting down every service individually.
Transferring too close to expiry. Transfers take up to seven days. A domain expiring within 15 days may lapse during the process. Renew first.
The Post-Transfer Checklist
Once the transfer status in your Namecheap account updates to complete, run through these final steps.
Confirm the new expiry date. The transfer adds one year to the current expiration date. The updated date appears in your Domain List within 24–48 hours.
Enable auto-renewal. A transferred domain does not have auto-renewal on by default. Go to Domain List > Manage and switch it on immediately.
Enable WHOIS privacy. Namecheap includes WhoisGuard free with all eligible domains. Turn it on via Domain List > Manage to protect your contact details going forward.
Verify DNS resolution. Open a browser and confirm your website loads. Send a test email to your domain address to confirm inbound mail works. If anything is broken, go to Domain List > Manage > Advanced DNS and match your records against the documentation you created before the transfer.
Update nameservers if migrating hosting. If you are also moving to a new hosting provider, update nameservers now under Domain List > Manage > Nameservers. Allow 24–48 hours for global propagation.
Summary
The transfer itself is reliable. The preparation is where transfers succeed or fail. Clear the 60-day eligibility window, verify the registrant email address, disable WHOIS privacy, unlock the domain, document your DNS records, and request a fresh EPP code on the day you plan to transfer. That covers the vast majority of failure scenarios before they start.
After the transfer completes, enable auto-renewal, turn WHOIS privacy back on, and verify that your site and email both resolve correctly. Those steps take under ten minutes and leave the domain in a clean, stable state at Namecheap.
