How to transfer a domain to a new registrar in Australia

Transferring a domain to a new registrar is a routine, reversible process: you unlock the domain at your current provider, get the transfer key, and approve the move at the new one. The single thing that trips people up is forgetting to copy their DNS records first - get that right and your website and email never notice the change. The mechanics below are written for a .com.au or .au name, where transfers run through the process auDA defines for accredited registrars, but the DNS warning applies to every domain you will ever move.

Before you start: copy your DNS records

This is the step that takes sites and inboxes offline, and it has nothing to do with the transfer itself. A registrar transfer moves who manages the registration - the billing and renewal relationship. It does not, on its own, move where your domain points. The trap is what happens to your nameservers.

Many registrars set their own default nameservers on a domain the moment it lands in their account. If your current provider also runs your DNS - the A record pointing at your website, the MX records pointing at your email, the TXT records carrying your SPF, DKIM and DMARC - then a transfer that resets nameservers wipes all of it. The domain still works; it just points at the new registrar's empty DNS, which knows nothing about your site or mail. Your website goes blank and your email starts bouncing, often hours after the transfer "succeeded", which makes it maddening to diagnose.

So before you touch anything, write down every DNS record on the domain. Open your current registrar's DNS or zone management page and record, in full: every A and AAAA record, every CNAME, all MX records (with their priority numbers), and every TXT record - the SPF line, the DMARC line, any DKIM keys, and any verification strings for Google Workspace, Microsoft 365 or your CRM. A screenshot is not enough; copy the exact values. Then, at the gaining registrar, recreate those records before the domain finishes moving, or point the new registrar at the same nameservers you use now so nothing changes at all. If you are unsure which records matter, the safe rule is: copy all of them. There is no penalty for carrying across a record you did not strictly need.

If you do nothing else on this page, do this. Everything after it is administrative; this is the part that protects your business.

The transfer, step by step

With your DNS recorded, the transfer itself is 4 steps and mostly waiting.

1. Unlock the domain. Registrars apply a "registrar lock" (sometimes called a transfer lock) that blocks unauthorised transfers - a security feature, not an obstacle. Log in to your current provider, find the domain's settings, and turn the lock off. If you cannot find the toggle, search their help docs for "registrar lock" or "transfer out". A locked domain will silently reject the transfer, so do this first.

2. Get the transfer key. This is the password that authorises the move - variously labelled the transfer key, EPP code, auth code or authorisation code; they are the same thing. Good registrars expose it self-service in the control panel, right where the lock toggle was. Some make you request it and email it to the registrant address on file, which is one more reason that address needs to be a mailbox you actually read. The key is usually case-sensitive and time-limited, so copy it exactly and use it promptly.

3. Request the transfer at the gaining registrar. Go to the registrar you are moving to, start a transfer (not a fresh registration), enter the domain and paste the transfer key. This is also where you usually pay - most registrars charge a transfer fee, which for .au names normally includes 1 year added to your registration. More on that below, because it is a common source of confusion.

4. Approve the move. The losing registrar will typically send a confirmation to the registrant email, or surface an approval request in its dashboard. Approve it, and the transfer completes. If you do nothing, many .au transfers complete automatically after a short waiting period, but explicitly approving is faster and avoids surprises.

That is the whole process. No code, no downtime - provided the DNS step above is done.

How long it takes and what stays online

For a .com.au or .au name, a transfer is usually quick - often a few hours to a day once both sides have acted, considerably faster than the multi-day process some international gTLDs impose. Approving promptly at both ends is what keeps it short.

Crucially, the domain keeps resolving the entire time. A transfer is a change of management at the registry level; the existing DNS continues to answer queries throughout, so a correctly prepared move has zero visible downtime. Your site stays up and your email keeps flowing - if your nameservers and records are unchanged or already copied across. This is why the DNS preparation is not optional: it is the only thing standing between an invisible paperwork change and a half-day outage.

One related point that confuses people: if you do change nameservers as part of the move, the switch is not instant everywhere. Resolvers around the world cache the old answer for a while before picking up the new one - DNS propagation - which is why you might see the site update on your phone before it updates on your office network. Copying records across before the cutover avoids this entirely, because nothing about where the domain points actually changes.

Common variations

A few situations come up often enough to plan for.

The domain is registered under someone else's account. This is the single most common surprise. A web developer or agency registered the domain years ago, under their reseller account, with their email as the contact. You cannot unlock or pull a transfer key from an account you do not control - you have to ask whoever holds it to either release the domain to you or hand over access. Run your domain through auDA's WHOIS to see which registrar and which contact it really sits under before you assume you have control. If the relationship has soured, this becomes a negotiation rather than a click, which is exactly why confirming your business is the registrant matters long before you ever want to move.

The domain is close to expiry. Some registrars block transfers in the final days before expiry, and a transfer initiated against a domain about to lapse can fail or get tangled with the renewal. If you are inside that window, the cleaner move is usually to renew first, then transfer once the new expiry date is locked in. Do not leave a transfer until the week the domain expires - give yourself room. (For what happens if a domain does lapse mid-move, see what happens when my domain expires.)

The domain is still locked, or the key is rejected. A transfer that will not start almost always means the registrar lock is still on, or the transfer key was copied with a stray space or wrong case. Re-check the lock, regenerate the key if your registrar allows it, and paste it fresh. If it still fails, your current registrar's support can confirm whether anything else - an unverified contact, a recent registrant change, a 60-day post-transfer cooldown - is holding it.

Will transferring renew my domain? Not by itself. A transfer moves management; it does not extend the registration date. For .au names the gaining registrar usually adds a year as part of the transfer fee, which has the same effect as a renewal - but confirm it does. If it does not, your expiry date carries across unchanged, and you are responsible for renewing it on time at the new provider. Transferring and renewing are 2 separate things that often, but not always, happen together.

When this isn't enough

The transfer mechanics are the easy part. The harder questions are which registrar to move to, and whether moving fixes the problem you actually have.

If you are leaving a provider because it nickel-and-dimes you for security features or hides its renewal pricing, the move is worthwhile - but choose the destination on the same evidence. We have written about which Australian domain registrar to use and run through the tests that separate them in best Australian domain registrar. The short version: pick one that includes DNSSEC, registrar lock and 2-factor authentication free, publishes its renewal price, and holds its own auDA accreditation rather than reselling someone else's.

And a transfer alone does not improve your security posture. If your old registrar never had DNSSEC enabled, the new one will not turn it on for you - why most Australian SMBs have no DNSSEC explains how that gap got so common and what closing it involves. Moving registrars is the moment to fix it, while you have the DNS open in front of you anyway.

If you want the mechanics in one quick reference, see how do I transfer my domain to another registrar; for the underlying terms, what a domain registrar is and what auDA is cover the bodies and roles involved. A clean transfer is worth getting right once: do the DNS homework, copy the key carefully, and you will not have to think about it again for years.