What You Need to Know About Transferring Multiple Domains Between Registrars

Transferring Domain names is a popular means of taking advantage of special transfer incentives registrars offer from time to time. When you own multiple domain names, the savings of doing a transfer plus one year extension over renewing with your current registrar can be quite significant. Domain registrars are required to follow specific rules in order to make this process go smoothly. However, they have found ways to make it time consuming without circumventing these rules. Understanding the basics of how The Domain transfer process works can save you a lot of time when you do a bulk domain transfer.

Steps to Take

There is some variance between the rules that govern each domain extension and additional variance between how each registrar implements the domain transfer process, so you can expect some variance in the details of the process each time you transfer domains. However, the general process of doing a bulk domain transfer tends to be similar regardless of these factors. Following a set of steps carefully will ensure the quickest possible domain transfers, often taking less than an hour. A failure to go through the procedure correctly can drag the process on for days.

Before you even begin this process, you need to make sure your domain contact information is current, as inaccurate or recently changed contact information is the most common cause of failed domain transfers. This is because many registrars will refuse to let you transfer domains away if your contact information has recently changed. Also, if you try to initiate a transfer of a domain that expires in the next couple of months, some registrars will refuse to let the domain go. Even worse, if you try to transfer a domain expiring in the next couple of weeks, your registration may expire before your registrar lets the domain go.

You might think that you start the process by paying a registrar to transfer your domains away from your current registrar, but this is not the best place to start the process. For the smoothest domain transfers, particularly if you are going to be transferring many domains at one time, begin by requesting your current authentication codes from your current registrar. Each of your domains has an authentication code assigned to it. Most registrars require you to go into the domain management tools and click on an authentication code link for each of your registered domains. This code will then be sent to the e-mail address of the administrative contact listed for that domain. You will need to request this code for every domain you intend to transfer.

Next, find a registrar for each of the domains you intend to transfer. For security reasons, it is best to get all of the transferring domains gathered into that registrar’s shopping cart before proceeding.

The third step is to go into the domain management tools of your current registrar and unlock all of the domains you intend to transfer. Most registrars will allow you to select multiple domains at one time. Be careful only to unlock the domains you will be transferring, as this locking mechanism prevents other people from transferring your domains away from your registrar.

Wait about 10 minutes for your current registrar to update its database. Check to see if your domains have been unlocked. If they have been unlocked, you can proceed with paying for the domain transfers to the new registrar. Once you have paid the new registrar, you’ll need to wait for an e-mail confirmation of the initiation of the domain transfer process. This e-mail should be sent to the administrative contact of each domain.

Your e-mail confirmation should include some type of code to be used as a confirmation signature. You will be asked to click on a link to confirm the transfer or you will be asked to sign into your account and paste the confirmation code into a form. If you do not proceed as directed at this point, the domain transfer will be assumed to have come from an unauthorized source and the domain transfer request will expire.

Once you’ve confirmed the transfer, you’ll be required to enter the authentication codes that you should have received during the first step of the transfer process. Once you enter these authentication codes, the new registrar will initiate the transfer. If you find that you are missing an authentication code, you should still be able to request it again from your original registrar. E-mail delivery delays and aggressive e-mail filtering that slow down or block the delivery of authentication codes and confirmation e-mails are the most common causes of domain transfer delays. For this reason, it is important not to use e-mail accounts provided by companies known for overly aggressive e-mail filtering policies as your administrative contact e-mail accounts.

The final step, confirming the transfer with your original registrar, varies quite a bit from one registrar to the next. Once your original registrar receives the transfer request from your new registrar, you will receive an email from the original registrar indicating that a transfer request has been made. This e-mail will typically tell you what you can do to prevent the transfer and what you can do to proceed with the transfer. The e-mail may or may not include further instructions, but in most cases you can accelerate and provide greater assurance that the transfer will take place by logging into your original registrar’s domain management tools and looking for a domain transfers section. There is usually a place where you can immediately approve the outgoing domain transfers. Once you’ve given approval, the original registrar will hand the domains over to your new registrar. This may take seconds or a few hours.

Consider Carefully Whether It’s Worthwhile to Transfer Your Domains

Clearly, if you own only a few domains, there is little financial benefit to transferring them between registrars. On the other hand, if you own dozens, or even hundreds of domains, the savings of a bulk domain transfer can be hundreds of dollars annually. If you’re simultaneously extending your Domain Registrations for multiple years, your savings can easily add up to thousands of dollars.

But there is more than a few dollars at stake. If these domains generate a significant amount of revenue or have high sentimental value and you’re very comfortable with your current registrar, it is probably best to stay put. After all, your time has value too. Transferring domains is considerably more difficult and risky than renewing domains. On the other hand, if you have many interchangeable domains or you’re comfortable with changing registrars, it is probably worth the time it takes to transfer multiple domain names. Once you’ve gone through the process of transferring domain names a few times, you’ll be comfortable with the process whether you’re transferring one domain or hundreds of domains.