---
title: Transferring a domain to us
description: What happens after you start a domain transfer — the confirmation emails, how long it takes, and the nameserver check to do afterwards.
sidebar:
  order: 1
---

import { Steps, Aside } from '@astrojs/starlight/components';
import Support from '~/content/partials/support-link.mdx';

You've started a domain transfer to us — here's what happens next, and the one thing worth checking once it lands.

## Before the transfer will go through

Your current registrar has to let the domain go first. At the registrar you're leaving, make sure you've:

- **Unlocked the domain.** Registrars set a transfer lock by default to prevent unauthorised moves.
- **Turned off WHOIS / domain privacy.** Privacy services can hide the administrative address the confirmation email needs to reach.
- **Got the EPP code** (sometimes called the auth code or transfer key). Your registrar provides this, usually by email or in the domain's settings.

<Aside type="caution">
  Domains can't be transferred within **60 days** of being registered, or within 60 days of a previous transfer. That's an ICANN rule, not a registrar policy — nobody can waive it.
</Aside>

## Confirming the transfer

<Steps>

1. **Watch for confirmation emails.** You'll get one or both of:

   - a message from **your previous registrar**, confirming the domain is moving away from them;
   - a message from **NameCheap**, who we use to resell domains, confirming it's moving to our account.

   They go to the domain's registered contact address — which may not be the address you use with us. If nothing arrives, check that address and its spam folder.

2. **Click the confirmation link** in the email. Nothing moves until you do; an unconfirmed transfer just sits until it expires.

3. **Wait for it to complete.** Once confirmed, the transfer usually finishes in **1 to 12 hours**, depending on how quickly the losing registrar releases it. Your account page updates to reflect the domain once it's done.

</Steps>

## After it completes: check your nameservers

This is the step people miss. Some registrars — **GoDaddy** most notably — reset a domain's nameservers when they release it. If that happens, the domain transfers to us successfully but still points at the old host, so your site or email can appear to break for no obvious reason.

Once the transfer shows as complete, confirm the domain's nameservers match the ones for your hosting. If you're on WHP, your server's nameservers are listed on the **Dashboard** page under **Server Information** — see [Add a domain](/whp/how-to/add-a-domain/) for where to set them.

<Aside type="tip">
  A transfer moves *registration*, not *hosting*. Your site's files and email stay wherever they already live. If you're also moving hosting to us, that's a separate step — ask us and we'll help sequence the two so nothing goes dark.
</Aside>

## Related

- [Add a domain](/whp/how-to/add-a-domain/)
- [Manage DNS records](/whp/how-to/manage-dns-records/)
- [Flush your DNS cache](/domains/flush-your-dns-cache/)

## Still stuck?

<Support />
