Complete Guide to Domain Transfers

Domain transfers move a domain name from one registrar or reseller to another, and every TLD registry enforces its own rules for how those transfers work. OpenSRS handles transfers into your account and transfers away from your account as separate processes, each with its own preconditions, timelines, and notifications. This guide is a comprehensive reference covering the full transfer lifecycle, the parties involved, status codes, and reseller controls.

Note: The transfer process changed post-GDPR. See GDPR Domain Transfer Process Changes for details.

Parties involved in a transfer

A domain transfer involves multiple parties working through registries and registrars. Knowing each role makes the workflow easier to follow.

General transfer rules

For any transfer to succeed, all of the following must be true:

• The domain is not in clientTransferProhibited or Hold status.
• For reseller-to-reseller or registrar-to-registrar transfers of gTLDs or .US domains, the domain must have resided with the losing registrar for more than 60 days since it was first registered or last transferred.
• Transfers add one year to the domain's registration, so the gaining reseller must have sufficient account balance to cover the renewal.
• Domains in the expiration grace period (for most TLDs) can be transferred.
• The current administrative contact's email address must be valid so the confirmation message can be delivered.

Warning: You generally cannot transfer a newly registered domain or one transferred within the past 60 days. Initiating an early transfer returns a registry error.

Transfers in the Horizon test environment

You cannot simulate a domain transfer in Horizon. You can place transfer orders, but the test system only contains test domains and does not reproduce the live transfer flow.

Transfers into your account

With a transfer-in, a domain moves to an OpenSRS reseller from another registrar or another OpenSRS reseller. The end-user requests the change with the gaining reseller, who initiates the transfer. You submit a standard transfer order and the OpenSRS system determines whether it is a registrar or reseller transfer.

The system checks preconditions. If any fail, OpenSRS sends a Transfer Failed message, updates the domain notes with the reason, and surfaces the failure in the Reseller Control Panel filter. If preconditions pass, the system places the renewal funds on hold and emails the administrative contact a link to approve or decline the request.

When the administrative contact approves the transfer:

• The held funds are released into the transaction.
• The account is adjusted.
• The registry moves the domain.
• WHOIS is updated.
• OpenSRS notifies all parties (subject to reseller messaging settings).
• For reseller-to-reseller transfers, the domain is marked Deleted Transferred in the losing reseller's database.

If the admin contact declines, the held funds return to your account, the domain notes are updated, and all parties are notified. If the admin contact does not respond within five days, the request is canceled, the funds are released, and the admin contact is notified.

The transfer-in process step by step

This section walks through the transfer-in flow from the user's perspective.

Step 1: End-user requests transfer

The end-user submits a transfer request through your online order form. Alternatively, you can enter the transfer on their behalf in the Domains section of the Reseller Control Panel, selecting Transfer when it appears instead of Register Now.

If Process Orders Immediately is enabled, the request advances directly to admin contact confirmation and the renewal amount is placed on hold. If it is disabled, the request is held in Draft status until you review it. Either way, the administrative contact receives the approval email as soon as the request is submitted.

Step 2: Reseller reviews the request

This step only applies when Process Orders Immediately is disabled. Use the domain filter to find and either accept or cancel the request. Accepted orders move forward and place funds on hold; canceled orders trigger a notification to the admin contact explaining why.

Note: Orders can remain in this state indefinitely until you act.

Step 3: Administrative contact confirms the request

The admin contact receives an email with a unique key linking to the OpenSRS transfer approval page. The email address is parsed from the WHOIS record of the losing registrar. The admin contact approves or declines the request from that page. If they take no action within seven days, the order is canceled automatically, on-hold funds return to your account, and all parties are notified.

Step 4: OpenSRS reviews the request

After admin approval, the request queues for OpenSRS review. Review typically takes 24 to 48 hours but has no fixed limit. If the transfer is acceptable, OpenSRS submits it to the losing registrar. If not, OpenSRS cancels it and sends a transfer-failure message explaining why.

Step 5: Registrar reviews the request

The losing registrar has five days to approve or decline. No response after five days is treated as an automatic approval. If the losing registrar declines, OpenSRS waits up to nine more days before officially canceling the transfer, due to inter-registrar communication limitations.

When the transfer succeeds (explicit approval or five-day timeout), the registry updates the root zone, the order status changes, and the funds on hold are permanently deducted from your account. When the losing registrar declines, the order is updated and the funds return to your balance.

An in-depth look at transfers in

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

Request submission and WHOIS retrieval

An authorized OpenSRS reseller files the request via the OpenSRS API or Reseller Control Panel, making Tucows the gaining registrar. The system creates a transfer record in the OpenSRS database and stores the user-provided information. OpenSRS then performs an automated WHOIS query against the losing registrar's WHOIS server to retrieve a snapshot of the domain. This snapshot becomes a permanent record of sponsorship, contacts, expiration, and name service at the time of the request.

Admin contact email validation

OpenSRS extracts the administrative contact's email address from the WHOIS output. If the address is missing, malformed, or otherwise invalid, the request moves to a holding queue for manual review by OpenSRS staff. If a valid address is available, OpenSRS emails the admin contact with instructions to approve or decline the request. ICANN mandates the text used for gTLD authorization emails; for ccTLDs the message is reseller-customizable.

Holding queue resolution

If OpenSRS staff can determine a valid admin contact email from the WHOIS snapshot, they update the request and resubmit it to the automated pipeline. If no valid address can be found, the transfer is canceled. Bounced authorization emails are forwarded to the domain's technical contact automatically.

Administrative contact response

The admin contact has five days to visit the URL in the authorization email and approve or decline the request. No response within five days is treated as a timeout. All transaction states — owner confirm date, IP address, phone, and registry request date — are stored against the original transfer record for audit purposes.

• Approved: OpenSRS forwards the request to the registry; gaining reseller and registrant are notified.
• Declined: OpenSRS sends a transfer-failed message to the gaining reseller and registrant with the rejection reason.
• Timed out: Same as declined, but the message indicates a timeout.

Registry and losing-registrar handling

OpenSRS sends the transfer request to the registry using the appropriate protocol. The registry notifies the losing registrar, which checks the domain against transfer-denial criteria including evidence of fraud, UDRP actions, court orders, payment disputes, identity disputes, express written objection, locked status, the 60-day new-registration window, and the 60-day post-transfer window. The losing registrar must place the domain in Registrar Hold before denying a transfer for non-payment.

If the attribute check passes, the losing registrar either approves the transfer or does nothing. After five days with no response, the registry automatically completes the transfer, charges the gaining registrar, and notifies them. OpenSRS then notifies the registrant and gaining reseller. If the losing registrar denies the request, the registry cancels it and notifies the gaining registrar; OpenSRS records the failure and notifies the parties.

Cancellation timeout window

OpenSRS waits for cancellation notices for 15 days (21 days for .BE, .EU, and .UK). If no notice arrives within that window, OpenSRS assumes the transfer failed. The longer wait protects against missed cancellation notifications from losing registrars.

Transfers away from your account

With a transfer-away, a domain moves to another reseller and/or registrar. The end-user works with the gaining reseller, who initiates the transfer. OpenSRS receives the registry notification and checks whether the domain has been at OpenSRS for at least 60 days. If not, OpenSRS denies the transfer immediately.

OpenSRS notifies the losing reseller that the transfer request was received and sends the owner contact an email with a link to approve or decline. Upon approval, the registry moves the domain, WHOIS updates, the losing reseller's database marks the domain Deleted Transferred, and all parties are notified.

If the owner declines, the transaction cancels, the domain notes are updated, and all parties are notified. If the owner does not respond within five days, the registry automatically acknowledges the transfer and the move completes.

Warning: Once a transfer-away completes, the domain stops resolving if its DNS was pointed at SystemDNS.

For the focused process article, see Transfer Away Process.

An in-depth look at transfers away

This section traces the transfer-away process from a system-oriented perspective.

Notification handling and validation

The registry emails the losing registrar that a transfer is in progress. OpenSRS automatically receives and parses the message. OpenSRS verifies that the domain is sponsored by OpenSRS — if not, the email is ignored. OpenSRS queries the database for the registrant's contact details and checks whether the domain was transferred within the past 60 days. If so, the request is denied and a notice is sent to the registrant and gaining registrar.

Confirmation and win-back

If win-back messages are enabled for the losing reseller, OpenSRS sends a notification stating that a transfer-away has been requested. OpenSRS also sends the registrant a confirmation email with a link to approve or decline. Bounces are forwarded to the losing reseller's technical contact, and the message is logged in the domain notes.

Approval, decline, and timeout

• Approved: OpenSRS sends approval to the registry and notifies the losing reseller.
• Declined: OpenSRS sends a denial to the registry, marks the domain notes, and notifies the losing reseller and registrant.
• No response within five days: The registry automatically completes the transfer; OpenSRS monitors the registry and marks the domain Deleted Transferred.

Viewing WHOIS information before a transfer in

To check WHOIS for a domain that has not yet completed transfer:

1. In the RWI, click View Orders in Progress in the View Orders section.
2. From the Domain Name column, click the domain. The Type column must show Transfer.
3. On the Domain Order Info page, click View WHOIS Prior To Transfer In.

Checking the status of domain transfers

You can monitor transfer stages through the API or the Reseller Control Panel.

Using the API

Use a client-side command to query the status of a transfer order. This is useful when you handle OpenSRS transactions through a secondary system. See the OpenSRS API Specification for details.

Using the Reseller Control Panel

Filter the Domains section to see transfer status (you may need to disable other filters):

• Waiting Owner Approval — The admin contact has been notified but has not yet acted.
• Waiting Registrar Review — OpenSRS needs to review the request manually. No reseller action is needed.
• Waiting Registry Approval — OpenSRS has submitted the request to the losing registrar. Reseller-to-reseller transfers skip this status.
• Transfers Away — The owner contact has been emailed; you can resend the confirmation if needed.

Searching for transfers

In the Reseller Control Panel, use the Advanced Filtering options in the Domains section to view inbound or outbound transfers. For pending orders, you can resend the transfer confirmation to the domain owner.

Resubmitting transfers

Resubmitting cancels the original order (if still in progress) and creates a new one using the same information. Use this when the original transfer was held up by an invalid admin email and the registrant has since updated their contact details.

To resubmit:

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

You can resubmit orders that timed out, were declined by the losing registrar, or were canceled by the reseller while awaiting admin approval. You cannot resubmit orders explicitly canceled by the admin contact — submit a new transfer instead. The admin contact must always approve the resubmitted order, even if they previously approved it.

To resubmit a declined order, click View Declined Orders in View Orders, open the order, scroll to the bottom, choose Transfer Now, and click Submit.

Note: Resubmission via this feature only works for .COM, .NET, .ORG, and .CA transfers.

Forcing the completion of registrar transfers

If the registry already shows Tucows as the registrar but your order still shows Pending Registry Approval, you can force a registry lookup. From the Waiting Registry Approval view, click the domain name, scroll to the bottom, then click Transfer Management > Check Transfer Status. If the registrar is currently Tucows, the order completes immediately.

Canceling transfers

You can cancel transfer-in orders that are Pending Owner Approval. Locate the order in Domains, click the domain name, and click Cancel at the bottom of the page.

Customizing the transfer approval page

The approval page is where the admin contact accepts or declines the transfer. You can add a custom message and logo through Messaging > Transfer Messaging > Customize Web Transfer Page in the RWI.

Warning: Custom transfer URLs require careful programming. Test thoroughly before processing live transfers. See the OpenSRS API Specification.

Registrar transfer approval interface

Each authorization email contains a unique transfer key valid for seven days. The interface differs slightly for EPP, RRP, and batch transfers, but all three share these elements:

• The losing registrar is identified.
• The registrant can review pending WHOIS changes.
• A link to the domain transfer and registration agreement.

To complete the request, the registrant approves or declines and provides a daytime phone number. After approval, a printable authorization form displays for their records.

Common registry errors

The registry — not OpenSRS — issues these messages, and they cannot be suppressed.

552 – Domain status doesn't allow for operation occurs when:

• The transfer is reseller-to-reseller or registrar-to-registrar for a gTLD or .US domain less than 60 days old.
• The existing registrar has locked the domain for non-payment or at the end-user's request.
• The domain is in dispute or has been deleted.

557 – Name server locked occurs when an attempt is made to modify or delete a nameserver that hosts a TLD in the root zone. Root zone changes require approval from the U.S. Department of Commerce and IANA and must be coordinated through the registry operator out-of-band.

Transfer and end-user notifications

OpenSRS sends emails to both resellers and end-users at each transfer stage. You can choose which reseller notifications you receive, where they are sent, and you can edit or preview most end-user messages.

Tip: Use Messaging and Confirmation in the new control panel to manage these settings.

Reseller notifications

Configure recipients and toggles for transfer-status messages. The key controls are Transfer Message Destination(s) (set notification recipients and activate notifications for bounced transfer emails) and the End User Transfers Bounce-Forwarding Email Address (captures messages sent to clients using incorrect addresses).

Note: Your message-template Bounce-To setting overrides the bounce-forwarding email address. Make sure your template's Bounce-To field contains either {{rsp_bounce_email}} or an explicit address.

Notification toggles

Under Transfer Management > RSP Messaging, the Transfers To Your Account and Transfers Away From Your Account sections let you toggle notifications for admin-contact accept/reject, transfer timeouts, transfer-away receipts, and transfer-away acknowledgements. Most default to Off; the transfer-timeout notification defaults to On.

End-user notifications

The end-user messaging area covers every message required for the transfer process. OpenSRS enforces registry restrictions on message content. Customizable messages show an Edit button in the RWI. The initial authorization email (four versions, covering registrar and reseller-to-reseller transfers, single and batch) is mandatory and cannot be disabled; pre-translated gTLD text is available under Account Settings > Account Messaging. Editable transfer-in messages include the acceptance, rejection-acknowledgement, registry-rejection, completion, and timeout messages. Transfer-away messages include the mandatory confirmation (gTLD and ccTLD versions) plus optional accepted, declined, and auto-acknowledgement messages.

Next steps

• Submit a transfer-in — Walk through the step-by-step procedure in Transfer In Process.
• Manage a transfer-away — See Transfer Away Process for the focused transfer-away workflow.
• Transfer a .UK domain — Follow the IPS tag procedure in Transfer .UK Domains.
• Transfer a .DE domain — Review DENIC nameserver requirements in Transfer .DE Domains.
• Bulk-move domains between resellers — Use the push tool described in Push Multiple Domains to Another Reseller.

Questions? Contact OpenSRS Support.