Transferring a domain name without downtime: step by step

You want to transfer your domain name to another provider, but you don't want a website that is dark for a day or email that disappears into nothing. That worry is understandable, and honestly it is justified if you do things in the wrong order. Do it right, and nobody will notice.

The secret comes down to one insight: transferring the domain itself is an administrative action. Your site and email only stop working if the DNS settings get lost along the way. Below you can read what to prepare, how to use the transfer code, how long it takes and what to check afterwards. It works the same for .nl and .com, with a few differences that I cover separately.

What you are actually transferring: domain, DNS, hosting and email are separate things

Much of the hassle comes from people mixing up these four. They can be with the same company, but they don't have to be.

• Domain registration: which provider (registrar) holds the domain in your name and who renews it. You transfer this with a transfer code.
• DNS: the phone book that decides where your website and your email go. It is stored in the zone that belongs to your nameservers.
• Hosting: the server your website runs on.
• Email: for example Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace. Email is routed through the MX records in your DNS.

So transferring a domain does not mean your website moves too. The site can simply stay where it is. You only get a problem if the DNS zone runs at your old provider and is switched off after the transfer. Most of this article is about that.

Preparation: sort this out before you request the transfer code

Plan for half an hour of preparation. It saves you hours of searching later.

1. Record your current DNS records. Open the DNS zone at your old provider and take a screenshot or export of everything: A records, MX, TXT (SPF, DKIM, DMARC, verifications), CNAMEs and any subdomains. People always forget a TXT record for a service they linked two years ago.
2. Lower the TTL. Set the TTL of your most important records to 300 seconds (five minutes) a day or two in advance. Changes then take effect quickly, and if something goes wrong, you can fix it quickly too.
3. Check your contact details. The domain holder's email address must be correct and reachable. Confirmation emails about the transfer are sent there. If that address is on the domain you are transferring and that email is broken, you end up in a loop.
4. Check DNSSEC. If DNSSEC is on and your new DNS provider does not take it over, resolvers may see your domain as invalid and your site looks offline. Turn it off before you change the nameservers, and turn it back on with the new provider afterwards if they support it.
5. Check the term. Do not transfer on the last day before the expiry date. An expired domain is a different and more annoying problem than a transfer.
6. Check the lock. Many providers put a transfer lock on your domain. You remove it in the control panel. For a newly registered .com domain, or after a change of registrant, a waiting period of 60 days often applies before you can transfer.

Transferring a domain name: the steps in order

This is the order I recommend. The most important rule: secure your DNS first, and only then transfer the domain.

1. Set up the DNS zone at the new provider. Create a zone at your new provider and enter all the records you noted down. You can read how this works in a portal in Managing DNS records in your portal. Check that nothing is missing, especially MX and TXT.
2. Request the transfer code from your old provider. For .nl it is often called a token or transfer code, for .com an authorization code, EPP code or auth code. You can usually find it in the control panel, otherwise ask support. The code is only valid for a limited time, so request it only when you are ready for the next step.
3. Start the transfer at the new provider. You enter the domain name and code and complete the order. For a .com you sometimes get a confirmation email that you need to approve. Do this right away, otherwise the process takes longer than necessary.
4. Wait until the transfer is complete. You can see it in the new provider's panel, and you often get an email. Meanwhile nothing changes for your site or email, because your nameservers stay the same.
5. Only switch the nameservers once your zone is correct. If you want DNS to run at the new provider from now on, change the nameservers now. Thanks to your low TTL this usually goes quickly, although some networks can keep old data for a day or two. So leave the old DNS zone in place for a few more days.
6. Check everything with the checklist below.

Notice that a step is missing for your situation, for example because you are also moving your hosting? Then don't do it at the same time. Transfer the domain, let it settle for a few days, and then move the hosting. Changing two things at once makes it a lot harder to find the cause of an error.

How long does it take and what is the difference between .nl and .com?

The answer depends on the extension and on how quickly your old provider cooperates.

.nl domains

A .nl transfer runs via a token. With many providers it is done within a few hours to a day, as soon as the token and request are correct. There is no long waiting period like with some international extensions.

.com domains (and other international extensions)

A .com transfer more often takes a number of days. If you don't actively approve the confirmation, the transfer is pushed through automatically after a waiting period of about five days. With .com, the term is usually extended by a year on transfer, and you pay for that renewal. So check with your new provider how this appears on the invoice.

As a rule of thumb: plan a .nl in a day or two, and a .com in a week. Don't plan it right before a launch, campaign or busy period in your business.

DNS and email: this is where it may go wrong

Your website rarely goes down because of the transfer itself. Email goes down more often, mostly because of forgotten records.

Make sure these records are the same after each step as before:

• MX records: these send your email to Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace. If they are missing, incoming email bounces.
• SPF (a TXT record): states which servers may send email on behalf of your domain.
• DKIM: the digital signature of your email provider, often a CNAME or TXT under its own selector.
• DMARC (_dmarc as TXT): determines what recipients do with email that fails the checks.
• Verification records for Google Search Console, Microsoft or other services.

If you miss SPF or DKIM, your outgoing email is more likely to end up in spam, and you see no error message. That is awkward, because you only notice when a customer asks why he never gets a reply. How to set this up correctly is covered in Setting up email via Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace. For everything about DMARC, read Setting up DMARC: step by step for Microsoft 365 and Google.

For your website: if your hosting does not move along, the A record keeps pointing to the same server. Here is an example of what you see in your zone:

example.nl. 300 IN A 192.0.2.10

You copy that IP address exactly. If it changes, your site ends up in the wrong place.

Checklist after the move

Go through this list, it takes fifteen minutes:

1. Open your site in a private window, and also check www and the version without www.
2. Check that the SSL padlock is still there.
3. Send a test email to yourself (to a different address, for example a personal one) and ask someone to reply.
4. Check in the email headers that SPF, DKIM and DMARC pass.
5. Check that contact forms still deliver emails.
6. Check the WHOIS details and the expiry date at the new provider.
7. Turn on automatic renewal and check your payment details.
8. Set the TTL back to a normal value (for example one hour or more).
9. Turn DNSSEC back on if you used it.
10. Only cancel the old domain subscription once everything has run well for a few days.

Want a quick second pair of eyes on your settings? Run the free website check. It looks at your email settings and security, among other things.

What to do now

Start by copying the DNS records from your current zone into a document. This takes ten minutes and is the step that gets skipped most often. Then lower the TTL, request the transfer code and follow the order above.

If you would rather have us transfer the domain, that is possible. The page register or transfer a domain name explains how it works. With us, a .nl costs € 9.95 per year and a .com costs € 14.95 per year. We set up the DNS records correctly, including those for your email, so your site and mailbox keep working.

Frequently asked questions

Can I transfer my domain name while my website stays online?

Yes. Transferring the domain only changes who it is registered with. As long as your nameservers and DNS records stay the same, visitors won't notice anything. The risk only arises if the DNS zone at your old provider is switched off before the new one is ready.

What does it cost to transfer a domain name?

That differs per provider and extension. For a .com, the transfer is usually tied to one year of renewal, which you pay for. Ask the new provider in advance what exactly will be on the invoice, and whether your old provider charges any fees.

Why don't I get my transfer code from my old provider?

Usually the domain has a lock, the email address of the domain holder is not reachable, or there is still an unpaid invoice. A recently registered .com domain may also be temporarily non-transferable. If it doesn't work in the panel, request the code in writing from support. Your provider is required to cooperate with a transfer.

Do I need to set up my email again after transferring a domain?

Not if your MX, SPF, DKIM and DMARC records stay unchanged. Your mailboxes are with Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace and are not part of the domain transfer. Do check with a test email that everything still arrives.