You are unhappy with where your domain is registered. Or you want everything in one place. The transfer is simple — but two details are what most often derail it.
First: the domain and the website are separate
This is the misunderstanding behind all the problems.
The registrar is where the domain is leased.
The hosting is where the website lives.
You can change them separately. A domain transfer does not move the website — it stays where it is, as long as the DNS records are carried over correctly.
When it can’t be transferred
Two cases, and it is good to know them in advance:
Less than 60 days since registration or since a previous transfer. An ICANN rule, with no exceptions.
A locked domain. Standard protection against theft. It is unlocked at the current registrar.
The steps
1. Unlock it. At the current registrar — usually called “Domain Lock” or “Transfer Lock”.
2. Request the EPP code. A transfer password, sent to the domain’s administrative email address.
3. Check that you can access that email. This is where it most often stalls — the address is old, belongs to a former employee, or is on a domain that no longer exists. Update it before you start.
4. Write down the DNS records. All of them: A, CNAME, MX, TXT. Take a screenshot. If they are lost, the website and email stop working.
5. Start the transfer at the new registrar with the EPP code.
6. Confirm. An email with a link arrives. Some registrars wait 5 days if you don’t confirm — confirming speeds it up.
What happens to the website in the meantime
Nothing, if the DNS records are the same in the new place.
That is why step 4 matters. A new registrar with its own default records means a website pointing at an empty server.
Tip: enter the records at the new registrar before the transfer completes. Then the switch is invisible.
The year that gets added
A transfer usually includes payment for one year, which is added to your existing time. You lose nothing.
.mk domains
Macedonian domains go through MARnet and the procedure is different. It usually goes through an accredited registrar, with company documents.
Less automated, but no more complicated — it just takes a few days longer.
Before you start
- The administrative email is accessible ✓
- The DNS records are written down ✓
- The domain is older than 60 days ✓
- It doesn’t expire within the next 15 days ✓
The last one matters — transferring a domain that expires in a week can leave it stuck between the two registrars.
We register .mk and international domains — with a free .mk domain in every plan.
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