A Complete Guide to Domain Transfers

The transfer process has changed post-GDPR. Please see opensrs.help/gdpr-transfers for details. 

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General transfer rules

For a transfer to be successful, the following conditions must exist:

• The domain cannot be in the clientTransferProhibited or Hold status
• For Reseller to Reseller or Registrar to Registrar transfers of gTLDs or .US domains must have resided with the losing Registrar for more than 60 days since it was first registered or transferred there.
• Transfers add one year to the domain's registration; therefore, the gaining Reseller must have a sufficient balance for the renewal to complete the transfer request.
• Domain names in the expiration grace period for most TLDs) can be transferred.
• The current administrative contact's email address must be valid to allow for the confirmation of the transfer request.

With this type of transfer, a domain moves to an OpenSRS Reseller and away from another Registrar or another OpenSRS Reseller. In this scenario, the end-user requests the change with the Gaining Reseller, who initiates the transfer. Regarding initiating the process, Resellers simply create a standard transfer; the OpenSRS system determines whether to deal with it as a Registrar or Reseller transfer.

The system confirms that certain preconditions have been met—if not, the appropriate Transfer Failed error message is sent, and the domain notes are updated with an explanation of why the transfer failed. In the Reseller Control Panel, use the filter to view the domain (you may have to click Disable Filters in order to do so) - the status will indicate the reason for failure.

If the preconditions are met, the system places the necessary funds on hold and sends an email to the domain's administrative contact, directing them to a website where they can approve or decline the transfer. 

Upon approval from the administrative contact, the transfer is processed:

• The held funds are released.
• The account is adjusted.
• The domain is moved by the Registry.
• The WHOIS info is updated.
• The system notifies all parties involved that the transfer was successful (optionally, based on the Resellers' system settings).
• The domain is marked Deleted Transferred in the Losing Reseller's database for a Reseller to Reseller transfer.

If the administrative contact declines the transfer, the system cancels the transaction:

• The held funds are released.
• The domain notes are updated.
• All involved parties are notified that the transfer was unsuccessful (optionally, based on the Resellers' system settings).

If the admin contact does not respond to the email within five days:

• The held funds are released.
• The transfer request is canceled.
• The domain's administrative contact is notified that the transfer has been canceled.

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This section of the document takes a step-by-step look at the transfer process from the user's point of view.

1. End-user requests transfer
2. Reseller reviews the transfer request
3. Administrative contact confirms the request
4. OpenSRS reviews the transfer request
5. Registrar reviews the transfer request

 End-user requests transfer

This section traces the transfer-in process from a technical, system-oriented point of view.

Transfers-in process flow

Note: The user in question may be the Registrant or someone authorized to act on their behalf, i.e., the Reseller, the domain's technical contact, etc.

OpenSRS retrieves WHOIS output from the Losing Registrar—The OpenSRS system performs an automated WHOIS query against the WHOIS server of the Losing Registrar to retrieve the WHOIS record for the transferred domain. This data is then stored in the OpenSRS database, along with the original transfer request data. Once stored, the output becomes a permanent record of the status of the domain at the time the transfer request was filed. This ensures continuity of sponsorship, contact details, expiration, and name service.

Is the administrative contact email address valid?—In order to contact the administrative contact to verify the transfer request, the email address must be acquired. The OpenSRS system finds the email address for the administrative contact by querying the WHOIS output of the Losing Registrar. If OpenSRS cannot determine the email address of the admin contact (e.g. it is missing, does not contain valid characters, or does not adhere to the RFC-dictated format for an Internet email address), the transfer request is placed into a holding queue for processing by OpenSRS staff. If the email address is available from the WHOIS output and is properly formed, the system emails the administrative contact with instructions for approving or declining the transfer request.

Transfer request placed in holding queue—If the administrative contact's email address is invalid, the transfer request is placed into a holding queue to be manually processed by OpenSRS staff. The information captured from the WHOIS database of the Losing Registrar is used to find the correct email address of the administrative contact. If OpenSRS staff can determine the valid email address of the domain's admin contact, they add it to the transfer request and resubmit the transfer for automated processing. At this point, the procedure continues. If the correct email address for the administrative contact cannot be determined, the transfer is canceled.

Authorization email sent to admin contact—OpenSRS sends an email to the administrative contact as specified by the WHOIS output of the Losing Registrar. This is a Reseller-customizable message for ccTLDs, but it is not customizable for gTLDs, as ICANN has mandated standardized text for this email. This mandatory email must be sent for every transfer request.

OpenSRS logs the sending of this email by making an entry in the domain notes table, indicating the address to which the email was sent, as well as the date and time the email was sent.

If the email sent to the admin contact bounces, OpenSRS automatically forwards the bounced email to the domain's technical contact.

Administrative contact responds?—The domain's admin contact is given five days to respond to the instructions in the email sent by OpenSRS. These instructions include the URL the admin contact must visit to accept or decline the transfer request. If the admin contact does not visit the URL within five days, OpenSRS will not undertake the transfer request, as the appropriate authorization has not been obtained.

If the admin contact does not respond to the specified URL within five days, the transfer request is considered timed out, and OpenSRS notifies the Gaining Reseller by email. OpenSRS then logs the sending of this email by making an entry in the domain notes table, including the date and time the email was sent. OpenSRS automatically forward bounces of this email to data_admin@opensrs.org, where OpenSRS staff manages them.

In addition, OpenSRS notifies the Registrant by email, informing them that the transfer has timed out. OpenSRS logs the sending of this email by making an entry in the domain notes table, indicating the date and time the email was sent. Bounces of this email are sent to the Gaining Reseller.

Administrative contact visits website—The admin contact receives an email directing them to a URL where they can approve or decline the transfer request.

Transfer approved?—This is a decision point during which the Registrant or administrative contact for the domain must indicate whether they wish to undertake the transfer request. One of two results is possible:

• Administrative contact declines authorization—The administrative contact visits the URL listed in the email sent by OpenSRS. By clicking the button, the administrative contact explicitly denies OpenSRS the authorization to continue with the transfer.
  OpenSRS notifies the Gaining Reseller by email, informing them that the transfer has been declined. OpenSRS logs the sending of this email by making entry in the domain notes table, indicating the date and time the email was sent. Bounces of this email are sent to data_admin@opensrs.org, where OpenSRS staff handles them.
  In addition, OpenSRS notifies the Registrant by email, informing them that the transfer has been rejected. OpenSRS logs the sending of this email by making an entry in the domain notes table, including the date and time the email was sent. Bounces of this email are sent to the domain's technical contact.
• Send transfer failed email—When a transfer request is explicitly denied, it is not forwarded to the Registry for processing as a legitimate transfer. OpenSRS notifies the Gaining Reseller by email, informing them that the transfer has failed and the reason for the rejection. OpenSRS logs the sending of this email by making an entry in the domain notes table, indicating the date and time the email was sent. Bounces of this email are sent to data_admin@opensrs.org, where OpenSRS staff handles them.
  In addition, OpenSRS notifies the Registrant by email, informing them that the transfer has failed and providing the reason for the failure. OpenSRS logs the sending of the email by making an entry in the domain notes table, including the date and time the email was sent. Bounces of this email are sent to the email address of the domain's technical contact.

OR

• Administrative contact verifies transfer request—If the administrative contact visits the URL listed in the email they were sent by OpenSRS and clicks the button, OpenSRS can forward the transfer request to the Registry because the Registrant (or another authorized entity) has explicitly authorized the transfer.
  OpenSRS notifies the Gaining Reseller by email, informing them that the transfer has been approved. OpenSRS logs the sending of this email by making an entry in the domain notes table, indicating the date and time the email was sent. Bounces of this email are sent to data_admin@opensrs.org, where OpenSRS staff handles them.
  In addition, OpenSRS notifies the Registrant by email, informing them that the transfer has been approved. OpenSRS logs the sending of this email by making an entry in the domain notes table, indicating the date and time the email was sent. Bounces of this email are sent to the Gaining Reseller.

Note: Regardless of whether the admin contact approves, declines, or does nothing with the transfer request, the status of the transaction is stored in the OpenSRS database. The saved elements include owner confirm date, owner confirm IP address, owner confirm phone, and Registry request date. These elements are stored with the original transfer-request record, so they can be referenced should there be a dispute over the transfer.

Transfer request sent to Registry—OpenSRS sends the transfer request to the appropriate registry, using the appropriate protocol.

Registry notifies the Losing Registrar—The Registry sends a notification to the Losing Registrar that a request was made to transfer the domain away.

Losing Registrar checks domain—Upon receipt of the Registry's transfer notification, the Losing Registrar ensures that the domain does not fall within one of the following categories:

• Evidence of Fraud
• UDRP action
• Court order by a court of competent jurisdiction
• Reasonable dispute over the identity of the registered name holder or administrative contact
• No payment for the previous registration period (including credit card charge-backs), if the domain name is past its expiration date or for previous or current registration periods if the domain has not yet expired. In all cases, the domain must be put into Registrar Hold status by the Registrar of record prior to the denial of transfer.
• Express written objection to the transfer from the transfer contact (e.g., email, fax, paper document, or other processes by which the transfer contact has expressly and voluntarily objected through opt-in means).
• The domain was already in locked status, provided that the registrar provided an accessible and reasonable means for the Registrant to remove the locked status.
• The domain name is in the first 60 days of an initial registration period.
• The domain name is within 60 days (or a lesser period to be determined) after being transferred (apart from being transferred back to the original Registrar in cases where both Registrars so agree and/or where a decision in the dispute resolution process so directs).

Attribute check passed?—The Losing Registrar conducts the attribute check described above. If the check passes, the transfer is allowed. If it fails, the Losing Registrar denies the transfer request.

Registry transfers domain—If the specified domain passes the attribute check, the Losing Registrar must authorize the transfer request from the Registry or do nothing.

After five days, no response from a Losing Registrar results in an automatic acknowledgment of the transfer. The Registry charges the Registrar or the domain and communicates back to the Gaining Registrar that the transfer is complete.

Notify Registrant—OpenSRS notifies the Registrant of record and the Gaining Reseller via email that the transfer was successful.

OpenSRS logs that these emails were sent by making an entry in the domain notes table, indicating the date and time the email was sent. Any bounces of the email sent to the Reseller are automatically forwarded to OpenSRS to data_admin@opensrs.org, where OpenSRS staff handles them.

Any bounces of the email sent to the Registrant are automatically sent to the email address of the domain's technical contact.

Losing Registrar denies transfer—If the domain does not pass the attribute check, the Losing Registrar declines the transfer request. The Losing Registrar notifies the Registry that they've denied the transfer. The Losing Registrar must also notify the Gaining Registrar and the Registrant.

Registry cancels transfer—Upon receipt of a transfer denial, the Registry cancels the transfer request and notifies the Gaining Registrar that the transfer request was denied.

OpenSRS receives email within 15 days?—When the Registry cancels the transfer request, they notify the Registrar that would have been the Gaining Registrar. OpenSRS monitors for this email and records the transfer as having failed when received. (This period is 21 days for .BE, .EU, and .UK.)

Transfer times out—When the Registry cancels the transfer request, it sends an email notification to the Registrar that would have been the Gaining Registrar. OpenSRS checks for this email, and if no email is received from the Registry within 15 days (21 days for .BE, .EU, and .UK) of a transfer request being made, the system assumes the transfer has failed.

Send transfer failed email—When a transfer request is canceled by the Registry, OpenSRS notifies the Gaining Reseller by email, informing them that the transfer has failed and the reason for the rejection. OpenSRS logs the sending of this email by making an entry in the domain notes table, indicating the date and time the email was sent. Bounces of this email are sent to data_admin@opensrs.org, where OpenSRS staff handles them.

In addition, OpenSRS notifies the Registrant by email, informing them that the transfer has failed and providing the reason for the failure. OpenSRS logs the sending of the email by making an entry in the domain notes table, including the date and time the email was sent. Bounces of this email are sent to the email address of the domain's technical contact.

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With this type of transfer, a domain is moving to another Reseller and/or another Registrar. In this scenario, the end-user requests the change with a Reseller of their choice, and the Gaining Registrar initiates the transfer on their behalf.

OpenSRS receives notification that a transfer away from one of its Resellers has been initiated. The system checks to see if the domain was registered or transferred in the last 60 days. If so, the transfer request is denied before any further processing, and the Registry is notified.

The Losing Reseller is notified that the transfer request has been received, and the OpenSRS system sends an email to the owner contact, directing them to a website where they can approve or decline the request.

Upon approval, the transfer is processed:

• The Registry is informed of the change.
• All involved parties are notified that the transfer was successful.
• The domain is moved by the Registry.
• The WHOIS info is updated.
• The domain is marked Deleted Transferred in the Losing Reseller's database.

If the owner contact declines the transfer, the system cancels the transaction:

• Acknowledgment of the refusal is shown on the website.
• The domain notes are updated.
• All involved parties are notified that the transfer was declined.

If the owner contact does not respond to the email within five days:

• The registry automatically acknowledges the transfer
• All involved parties are notified that the transfer was successful
• The domain is moved by the Registry
• The WHOIS info is updated
• The domain is marked Deleted Transferred in the Losing Reseller's database

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This section of the document traces the transfer-away process from a technical, system-oriented point of view.

OpenSRS receives transfer notification—The Registry emails the Losing Registrar that a transfer request is in process. OpenSRS automatically receives this email and parses its contents. Receipt of this email begins the transfer-away procedure in which Tucows is the Losing Registrar.

Transfers for gTLDs begin with the Registrant making the request with the Gaining Registrar, who sends the request to the Registry, who in turn sends the request to the Losing Registrar. If the domain is locked, the Registry stops the request and sends a transfer-failed message back to the attempting Gaining Registrar.

Is it an OpenSRS domain?—OpenSRS validates that the domain referred to in the Registry notification email is actually sponsored by OpenSRS. If it is, processing continues; if not, the email is ignored.

Retrieve Registrant contact information—Once OpenSRS has determined that the domain being transferred is OpenSRS-sponsored, the system queries the database for the Registrant's contact information, including the email address.

Domain transferred in the last 60 days?—OpenSRS checks if the domain was previously transferred within the last 60 days. If this is the case, the system denies the request; otherwise, the transfer-away process continues.

Deny transfer—OpenSRS sends a transfer denial to the Registry in the event that the domain was previously transferred in the last 60 days. A message is sent to the domain registrant and the attempting Gaining Registrar, indicating that the transfer was denied and why.

OpenSRS logs the sending of this email by making an entry in the domain notes table, indicating the date and time the email was sent. Any bounces of this email are automatically forwarded by the OpenSRS system to the technical contact for the domain.

Send winback email—If the Losing Reseller has enabled win-back messages, OpenSRS sends the Losing Reseller an email stating that a request was made to transfer a domain away from them.

Send confirmation email—OpenSRS sends emails to the Registrant and the Losing Reseller, notifying them that a request exists to transfer their domain to another Registrar. The email sent to the Registrant contains instructions for approving or declining the request.

OpenSRS automatically forwards bounces of this email to the technical contact email address of the Losing Reseller. OpenSRS logs the sending of this email by making a record in the domain notes table.

Registrant visits website?—Upon receiving the confirmation email, the Registrant can choose to visit the URL provided and approve or decline the transfer. If the Registrant chooses to do nothing, the opportunity to decline the transfer times out and the Registry automatically completes the transfer after five days.

Registry transfers domain—The Registry completes the transfer request and notifies the Gaining Registrar. This occurs either as a result of the Losing Registrar's time out (failure to respond within five days) or because of the Losing Registrar's explicit approval of the transfer.

OpenSRS monitors Registry for transfer completion—Once a transfer away from OpenSRS is in progress, OpenSRS monitors the Registry to determine at which point OpenSRS has lost the domain to the Gaining Registrar.

Once the transfer has been completed, the domain is marked as Deleted Transferred in OpenSRS. This is necessary because if the Registrant does not explicitly approve or decline the transfer request, the request times out at the Registry level, and the Registry completes the transfer to the Gaining Registrar without notifying OpenSRS.

Once the transfer is determined, OpenSRS sends an email to the Registrant, informing them that the transfer has concluded and that Tucows is no longer the Registrar of record for the domain. OpenSRS logs the sending of this email by making an entry in the domain notes table, indicating the date and time the email was sent. Bounces of this email are automatically forwarded by OpenSRS to the domain's technical contact.

Transfer approved?—Upon receiving the confirmation email, the Registrant visits the URL provided and approves or declines the transfer by clicking the appropriate button on the transfer approval page.

Send approval to Registry—OpenSRS acknowledges the transfer by sending an approval of the request to the Registry. OpenSRS logs that the approval was issued by making a record in the domain notes table.

OpenSRS informs the Losing Reseller that the transfer was approved by the Registrant and logs the sending of this email by making an entry in the domain notes table, indicating the date and time the email was sent. 

Please Note: Once the transfer has been completed, the domain will stop resolving if the DNS is pointed to SystemDNS.

Deny transfer—If the Registrant explicitly denies the transfer request, OpenSRS sends a transfer-denial command to the Registry and makes an entry in the domain notes table that the transfer was denied.

OpenSRS notifies the Losing Reseller that the domain will not be transferred and logs the sending of this email by making an entry in the domain notes table, indicating the date and time the email was sent. Any bounces of this email are automatically forwarded by the OpenSRS system to data_admin@opensrs.org, where OpenSRS staff handles them.

OpenSRS also sends an email to the Registrant that the transfer was declined and logs the sending of the email by making an entry in the domain notes table, indicating the date and time the email was sent. Any bounces of this email are forwarded by OpenSRS to the domain's technical contact.

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Registry cancels transfer request and notifies the Gaining Registrar—The Registry, upon receiving a denial of transfer command from the Losing Registrar, cancels the transfer request and notifies the Gaining Registrar.

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To view the WHOIS information for a domain prior to its being transferred-in to OpenSRS

1. In the RWI, click View Orders in Progress in the View Orders section. The Orders in Progress page opens.
2. From the Domain Name column, click the domain for which you want to check WHOIS information. The value in the Type column for that domain must be Transfer.
3. Click View WHOIS Prior To Transfer In from the Domain Order Info page.
   A page listing the WHOIS information for that domain opens.

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Resellers can monitor the stages of a transfer using the API or in the Resellers Control Panel.

To review all transfers of a particular status, use the filter in the Domains section of the Resellers Control Panel.

To see which domains are in the process of being transferred away from your Reseller profile, click Advanced Filtering and choose from the Outgoing status options and any other specifics you wish.  Then click Apply.

In the case of pending transfer orders, you are also given the option to resend the transfer confirmation email to the domain owner.

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Resubmitting a transfer cancels out the original transfer order (if it is still in progress) and creates a new one using the same information.

If a Reseller submits a transfer request, but the current admin email address is not valid, the invalid email address is retained in the transfer order until it's expired or canceled. After the Registrant updates their address to a valid one, you can resubmit the transfer in order to pick up the new, valid email address.

To resubmit a transfer

1. In the RWI, click Waiting Owner Approval in the Transfers section.
2. Click the domain for which you want to resubmit the transfer.
3. Click Transfer Management and then click Resubmit transfer request.

Resellers can also resubmit a transfer order that failed because:

• It timed out, waiting for admin approval.
• It was declined by the Losing Registrar.
• The order was canceled by the reseller and is waiting for admin approval.

The feature can not be used to resubmit orders that were canceled by the administrative contact because such a cancellation explicitly implies that the transfer is not wanted.

It is possible that the admin contact may want to resubmit a canceled order; in these cases, the Reseller submits a new transfer order.

The domain's administrative contact needs to approve the resubmitted order; this step cannot be skipped, even if they granted their approval the first time.

To resubmit a declined order, click View Declined Orders in the View Orders section of the RWI, find the transfer order to resubmit, and open it by clicking the domain name. Once you've opened the specific failed order, scroll down to the bottom, choose Transfer Now from the drop-down menu, and click Submit.

Note: This feature only works for .COM, .NET, .ORG, .CA transfers.

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It's possible that the Registry may show Tucows as the Registrar for a particular domain you are transferring to OpenSRS, but our system shows the order as Pending RegistryApproval. Resellers can force the OpenSRS system to query the Registry to see whether the Registrar has been set to Tucows. If we find that the Registrar is currently Tucows, we will complete the order immediately.

To check the status of a transfer order that is Pending Registry Approval, click the domain name from the Waiting Registry Approval view, scroll down to the bottom of the page, and click Transfer Management, then Check Transfer Status.

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Resellers can cancel transfer-in orders that are Pending Owner Approval.

To cancel a transfer, locate the transfer you want to cancel using the filter in Domains (order status must be Pending Owner Approval).  Click the domain name and Cancel at the bottom of the page.

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The transfer approval page is where the current admin contact for the domain is directed to approve or decline the domain's transfer to the OpenSRS system. This page has a default message instructing the admin contact on how to proceed. Resellers can also customize this page with a further message and a logo if they so desire.

To customize the transfer approval page, in the Messaging section of the RWI, click Transfer Messaging, and then click Customize Web Transfer Page.

Note: Resellers using this option should be sure they understand how the feature works and should test it thoroughly before processing live transfers. This feature does not work as soon as you provide a URL. Careful programming is required before you enable a custom transfer URL; please consult the OpenSRS API Specification for complete instructions.

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Once a Reseller has submitted a transfer, OpenSRS emails the current admin contact with instructions on how to act on the request. This email contains a unique transfer key, which has a lifespan of seven days and is used to log into the transfer interface. The appearance of the transfer interface depends on whether it's an EPP or RRP Registry or if it's a batch transfer.

All three types of transfers have common elements:

• The Losing Registrar is identified.
• The Registrant can review what WHOIS changes will be made after the transfer is complete.
• A link to a domain transfer and registration agreement. There is no blanket contract for all registries, so the linked agreement changes depending on the registries involved in the transfer.

To complete the request, the Registrant either approves or declines the transfer and provides a daytime phone number.

Once the Registrant completes the transfer request, the system displays an authorization form, which they can print out for their records. This contains all pertinent information regarding the authorization of the transfer.

When performing certain actions on a domain, the Registry for that domain may return the following errors. OpenSRS does not issue these messages and cannot control when they are returned.

552–Domain status doesn't allow for operation

This can occur if:

• The transfer is a Reseller to Reseller or Registrar to Registrar transfer for a gTLD or .US domain, and the domain is not yet 60 days old.
• The existing Registrar has the name locked for either non-payment or at the end-user's request.
• The requesting party needs to contact the existing Registrar to resolve this.
• A domain name is in dispute.
• The name has been deleted.

557–Name server locked

Extracted from the RRP spec:

An attempt has been made to modify or delete a nameserver that is hosting a TLD in the root zone. Modifications to the root zone can only be made with the approval of the U.S. Department of Commerce and IANA, so if the Registrar absolutely needs to modify or delete such a nameserver, the action needs to be coordinated through the registry operator using an out-of-band communications channel.

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The email messages sent to the parties involved in a transfer are crucial to the transfer process. Some of these messages are Reseller notifications, and some are End-user notifications. The OpenSRS system allows you to specify where the Reseller notifications are sent and allows you to edit some and preview all end-user notifications.

Note: Please use the "Messaging and Confirmation" in the new control panel. 

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