Transferring a Domain Between Registrars Without Breaking DNS, Email or Your Website

If you have managed domains for more than a couple of years, you have probably reached the point where you want everything under one roof: one invoice, one support team, one login. That almost always means transferring a domain between registrars. The good news: a registrar transfer by itself does not have to break your website or email. The bad news: if EPP codes, DNS zones, MX records and TTLs are not planned carefully, you can easily cause hours of mail bounces or a blank homepage. In this guide, we will walk through the complete process we use at dchost.com when helping customers move domains in and out of our platform with zero downtime. We will look at how EPP/Auth codes work, how to design a DNS strategy that survives the move, and how to migrate hosting and email in parallel without confusing browsers or mail servers. Use this as a calm checklist before you click “Transfer” on your most important domains.

Why Move a Domain Between Registrars at All?

Before getting into mechanics, it helps to be clear why you are transferring a domain in the first place. That answer shapes how much you touch DNS, hosting and email.

• Consolidation: Many businesses end up with domains scattered across multiple providers. Consolidating into a single registrar like dchost.com makes renewals, DNS and security far easier to manage.
• Pricing and transparency: Some registrars lure you in with cheap first-year offers, then add high renewal or WHOIS privacy fees. A transfer is often the moment you align pricing with your long-term plans.
• Better control panel and DNS: Modern dashboards, API access and reliable DNS matter once you manage more than a couple of domains or use advanced records (SPF, DKIM, DMARC, CAA, SRV, etc.).
• Support and security: Two‑factor authentication, registrar lock, DNSSEC and responsive support are critical if the domain is tied to a revenue‑generating site or email infrastructure.

Notice that none of these reasons require you to break your live services. A domain transfer is an administrative change at the registrar level. If you keep DNS and hosting stable during the process, visitors and mail servers will not even notice anything happened.

How domain transfers Actually Work Behind the Scenes

To avoid surprises, it helps to understand what is really happening when you transfer a domain between registrars.

Registry vs registrar in one minute

For most TLDs (like .com, .net, .org and many new gTLDs), the structure looks like this:

• Registry: The central database for a TLD (for example, the company that runs all .com domains). It does not sell domains directly to end users.
• Registrar: Companies like dchost.com that are accredited to sell domains, talk to the registry via the EPP protocol and provide control panels, billing and support.

When you transfer a domain, the registry ownership does not change; only the registrar of record changes. The registry simply updates which registrar manages the domain.

What is an EPP/Auth code?

An EPP code (also called an Auth code or Authorization code) is a secret token generated by your current registrar. Think of it as a one‑time password that proves you are allowed to move the domain to another registrar. The gaining registrar submits this code to the registry to initiate the transfer.

Key properties of the EPP/Auth code:

• It is unique per domain.
• You request it from the losing registrar (usually via the control panel or support).
• You give it only to the new registrar (never publish or email it in plain text if you can avoid it).

Transfer lock and 60‑day rules

Most domains are protected by a transfer lock (sometimes called “clientTransferProhibited”). While this is on, the registry will refuse transfer requests even if the EPP code is correct. You need to disable it before starting.

There are also 60‑day transfer restrictions in common cases:

• Within 60 days of initial domain registration.
• Within 60 days of a previous transfer.
• Sometimes after ownership (registrant) contact changes, depending on your registrar’s and ICANN’s policies.

Timing: how long do transfers take?

For most gTLDs, once you initiate the transfer with a valid EPP code and approve confirmation emails, the losing registrar has up to 5–7 days to release the domain. Some allow you to manually “approve” earlier and finish within hours.

During this time:

• The domain keeps resolving using the current nameservers.
• You can continue to manage DNS at the old DNS provider (often the old registrar).
• Website and email should continue working as long as DNS and hosting are unchanged.

This is why, for zero downtime, we usually keep DNS stable until after the transfer completes, then carefully move DNS or hosting if needed.

Pre‑Transfer Checklist: Make Your Domain Ready

Before requesting the EPP code, spend a few minutes making sure the domain and your contact details are in a good state. It will save you days of frustration.

1. Check domain status and expiry

• Make sure the domain is not expired, in redemption, or close to expiry. Ideally you have at least 7–10 days left before expiration.
• Use WHOIS or your control panel to confirm the domain is in an “ok” or “active” status and not on hold for payment or abuse.

If you want to review how grace and redemption periods work, see our in‑depth guide on domain renewal, grace periods and redemption fees.

2. Unlock the domain

In your current registrar’s panel, look for a setting like “Registrar Lock”, “Transfer Lock” or “Domain Lock”. Turn it off. This does not affect website or email; it only changes whether transfers are allowed.

3. Verify admin / registrant email address

Transfer approvals often go to the registrant or admin email listed in the domain’s contact info. Before you start:

• Check which email address is currently set (in WHOIS or in the registrar’s contact settings).
• Confirm you can receive messages there and that it is not a dead mailbox or a shared inbox with aggressive spam filtering.

4. Review WHOIS privacy settings

WHOIS privacy usually does not block transfers, but some registrars handle emails differently when privacy is enabled. If in doubt, read their docs or temporarily disable privacy until the transfer completes.

5. Take a full DNS snapshot

Before touching anything, export or screenshot your DNS zone:

• All A/AAAA records for your website(s).
• MX records for email.
• TXT records (SPF, DKIM, DMARC, verification tokens).
• Any CNAME, SRV, CAA and custom records.

If you are new to DNS records, our article “What Are DNS Records? A Step‑by‑Step Beginner’s Guide to A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, TXT and SRV” is a good refresher.

Step‑by‑Step: Getting Your EPP Code and Starting the Transfer

1. Request the EPP/Auth code

At your current registrar:

1. Open the domain management page.
2. Find the option labeled “Get EPP Code”, “Auth Info Code” or similar.
3. Request the code. Some registrars show it in the panel; others email it to the registrant email.

Keep the code confidential. Treat it like a password until the transfer completes.

2. Initiate the transfer at dchost.com (or your new registrar)

At dchost.com, the flow typically looks like this (other registrars work similarly):

1. Start a “Transfer Domain” order and enter the domain name.
2. Enter the EPP/Auth code when prompted.
3. Choose whether you will use existing nameservers or switch to dchost.com DNS after transfer (we will discuss strategy in the next section).
4. Pay the transfer fee (which usually includes a 1‑year renewal).

3. Approve confirmation emails

Depending on the TLD, you may receive:

• An email from the gaining registrar asking you to confirm the transfer.
• An email from the losing registrar giving you a chance to cancel or explicitly approve early.

Follow the links and instructions carefully. If you miss these emails, the transfer may time out or be delayed.

4. Wait for completion and verify

Once all approvals are done, the losing registrar can either release the domain immediately or wait until the maximum transfer window (often 5 days) expires.

After completion:

• The domain will appear as “Active” in your new registrar panel.
• WHOIS will show the new registrar as the “Registrar of Record”.
• Your website and email should still work as before if DNS was not changed.

We have a separate, shorter guide focused purely on this process: “How to Transfer a Domain Without Downtime: EPP Code, Transfer Lock, and a Smooth Migration Plan”. The rest of this article goes deeper into DNS and service migration details.

DNS Strategy: Keep Your Website and Email Online During the Move

The most important rule for zero downtime is simple:

A registrar transfer does not have to change DNS. You can keep the existing nameservers and DNS records exactly as they are while the domain moves between registrars.

Option 1: Keep the current nameservers during transfer (safest)

This is our default recommendation:

• Leave the domain pointed at the same nameservers it used before (for example, ns1.old‑dns.com, ns2.old‑dns.com).
• During and after transfer, DNS continues to resolve from that provider, so website and email do not notice the registrar change.
• Once the transfer is fully complete and stable, you can schedule a separate, controlled DNS migration to dchost.com nameservers if you want.

This splits risk: first change registrar, then change DNS. If something goes wrong, it is easier to debug one change at a time.

Option 2: Move DNS to dchost.com before or during transfer

Sometimes you want to leave the old registrar completely, including DNS, as soon as possible. You can do that safely if you plan TTLs and zone data carefully:

1. At the old DNS provider, lower the TTLs of critical records (A, AAAA, MX, TXT) to something like 300 seconds (5 minutes) at least 24 hours before changing nameservers.
2. In dchost.com’s DNS panel, recreate the entire DNS zone using your earlier snapshots: all A/AAAA, MX, TXT, CNAME, SRV, CAA, etc.
3. Once you are sure everything is mirrored, change the domain’s nameservers at the registrar to the new dchost.com NS records.

Because TTLs were lowered in advance, the switch will propagate faster. For a deeper explanation of TTL tactics, see “The TTL Playbook for Zero‑Downtime Migrations: How I Make DNS Propagation Feel Instant” and “What Is DNS Propagation, Why It Takes 24 Hours and How to Speed It Up”.

Always keep a DNS backup

Before changing nameservers, ensure you have:

• A text export or screenshot of every DNS record.
• Working copies of SPF, DKIM and DMARC records, which often contain long strings that are painful to recreate from memory.
• A list of all services that rely on DNS (web, email, CRM, analytics, SaaS integrations, verification tokens, etc.).

Our domain and DNS migration checklist when changing hosting provider covers this planning process in more detail, even if you are not changing hosting right now.

Zero‑Downtime Website Migration While the Domain Is Moving

Many people combine “move domain registrar” and “move hosting” into a single project. That is fine, but you need a clear order of operations to avoid blank pages or SSL warnings.

1. Prepare the new hosting environment

On your new hosting at dchost.com (shared hosting, VPS or dedicated server):

• Create the domain or site entry in the control panel.
• Upload website files (or deploy your app).
• Import the database and update configuration (for WordPress, update wp-config.php and site URL if needed).
• Install SSL (Let’s Encrypt or commercial). Most control panels can issue SSL early using temporary DNS/HTTP validation.

2. Sync data and test using a hosts file override

Before changing DNS:

• Sync the latest files and database from the old server to the new one.
• Use a hosts file override on your computer to point the domain to the new server’s IP and test everything (logins, checkout, forms, admin panels, etc.).

If you are running a CMS or e‑commerce store, our articles on moving from shared hosting to a VPS without downtime and capacity planning for large WordPress/WooCommerce sites can help you size the new environment correctly.

3. Lower TTLs and schedule the cutover

At the DNS provider currently serving the domain:

• Lower the TTLs of the A and AAAA records for the primary website to 300 seconds a day before cutover.
• Choose a low‑traffic time window for your audience (e.g. night hours in your main region).

4. Change A/AAAA records to the new server IP

When the window arrives:

• Update A/AAAA records to the new hosting IP at the DNS provider.
• Keep the old hosting online for at least 24–48 hours as a safety net.
• Monitor access logs and error logs on the new server for unexpected issues.

5. Clean up after propagation

Once you are confident that all traffic has shifted and no issues remain:

• Return TTLs to more normal values (e.g. 3600 or 7200 seconds).
• Archive or decommission the old hosting only after you are sure there is no remaining traffic.

This process works regardless of whether the domain is in transfer or not, because DNS is controlled at the nameserver level. Just make sure you are editing the current, authoritative DNS zone.

Zero‑Downtime Email Migration While the Domain Is Moving

Email is often the most fragile part of a domain transfer. A small mistake in MX records or timing can lead to bounces, lost messages or SPF/DMARC failures. We have a full guide on this topic titled “Why Domain Transfers Break Email (and How to Avoid It)”; here is the condensed playbook.

1. Inventory your existing email setup

List everything related to email for the domain:

• Which service is handling MX (cPanel hosting, another provider, on‑premise server, etc.).
• All mailboxes and aliases/forwarders.
• Current MX, SPF, DKIM and DMARC DNS records.

2. Create mailboxes on the new platform

At your new email hosting (this can be on dchost.com or another service):

• Recreate all mailboxes and aliases with the same usernames.
• Set secure passwords and configure IMAP/SMTP access.
• Add DNS records (MX, SPF, DKIM, DMARC) into the new DNS zone in advance if you are also moving DNS.

For help designing SPF, DKIM and DMARC records, see our guide to SPF, DKIM and DMARC.

3. Copy mailbox contents with IMAP sync tools

To avoid users losing old emails:

• Use an IMAP sync tool (such as imapsync) or your provider’s migration tool to copy mail from old mailboxes to the new ones.
• Run at least two passes: one initial bulk copy, and one incremental pass close to cutover to capture new messages.

Our article “Moving Email Between Google Workspace, Microsoft 365 and cPanel Without Downtime” explains this pattern step‑by‑step with examples.

4. Lower MX TTL and switch MX records

At your DNS provider:

• Lower the TTL of existing MX records to 300–600 seconds at least a day before cutover.
• At cutover time, change MX to point to the new email service.
• Update SPF to include the new outbound mail servers and, if necessary, remove the old ones.

Because of the low TTL, most sending servers will start using the new MX within minutes, while some lag may persist for an hour or two. That is why you:

• Keep the old email servers online for at least 48 hours.
• Run another IMAP sync pass to pull in any mails that still landed on the old system across that period.

Common Gotchas and How to Avoid Them

Even with a good plan, several recurring problems appear in domain transfers. Here is how we usually prevent or fix them.

1. Transfer rejected because of 60‑day lock

If the domain was just registered, just transferred, or had a recent ownership change, you may see a message about a 60‑day lock. In most cases you simply have to wait. A few registrars allow opting out of post‑update locks, but that must be done before the ownership change.

2. Wrong or invalid EPP/Auth code

If the gaining registrar reports that the EPP code is incorrect:

• Request a fresh code from the losing registrar. Some rotate the code each time you request or use it.
• Ensure there are no extra spaces or hidden characters when you paste it.
• Double‑check that the domain is unlocked.

3. Email approvals not received

If the registrant/admin email cannot receive messages (full mailbox, bad forwarding, etc.), approvals may fail. Before you start:

• Log in and send a test email to that address.
• If needed, update the contact email at the current registrar and re‑verify it before starting a transfer.

4. Email suddenly bouncing during transfer

Registrar transfers by themselves do not change MX records. However, sometimes people simultaneously:

• Change nameservers, and
• Switch email provider, and
• Transfer the domain.

If something goes wrong, it is hard to know which step broke email. When possible, separate the projects: first transfer domain, then migrate DNS or email. If you must do everything at once, follow the IMAP‑sync plus low‑TTL MX strategy very carefully.

5. SSL errors after moving hosting

If you move hosting while transferring the domain, you must ensure the new server has a valid SSL certificate for the domain before most traffic reaches it. Otherwise users will see “Not Secure” warnings. Our guide on fixing common SSL certificate errors covers the typical pitfalls and mixed‑content issues that appear after a migration.

Putting It All Together: A Calm Plan for Your Next Domain Transfer

Transferring a domain between registrars does not have to be dramatic. At its core, the process has three independent layers: registrar, DNS and services (web/email). If you change those layers one at a time, using low TTLs and good backups, you can keep visitors and inboxes completely unaware that anything changed.

In practice, this means:

• Prepare the domain: unlock it, confirm contacts, check expiry and obtain the EPP code.
• Transfer the domain alone first, keeping existing nameservers and DNS records untouched.
• Once the transfer is complete, schedule separate, well‑planned migrations for DNS, hosting and email, using the TTL and IMAP‑sync strategies we discussed.

At dchost.com, we follow the same runbook when we move our own domains or help customers consolidate portfolios. If you are planning a complex move—multiple domains, production e‑commerce, mission‑critical email—feel free to involve our support team early. Share your current DNS zone and hosting diagram, and we can help you design a realistic, zero‑downtime migration plan tailored to your setup.