Transfer a domain to UKBox (.uk and everything else) Print

Moving a domain to UKBox is simple once you know the rules of the game — and the rules are the same whoever you are leaving. Your website and email stay up throughout, because a transfer changes who manages the domain, not where it points. Most transfers that go wrong fail for one of a handful of avoidable reasons, so please read the short Before you start section even if you have done this before.

First: which kind of domain is it?

A .uk domain (.co.uk, .uk, .org.uk, .me.uk) moves by an IPS tag change. There is no code, no approval email and no waiting period. Your current provider changes the tag to PDR-IN and the domain is ours within minutes to a couple of days. Free, and your renewal date does not change.

Everything else (.com, .net, .org, .co, .io, .biz, .info and the new endings) moves with an authorisation code (also called an EPP or transfer code) and has to be approved. It usually completes in a few hours if you approve it, or automatically after five days if you do nothing — a few providers take longer. The transfer price adds a full year to your domain, so you lose nothing you have paid for.

Before you start (both kinds)

1. Check the contact email on the domain. Approval emails and authorisation codes go to the email address registered against the domain (the “registrant” contact), which is often not the address you log in with. If it is an old address nobody reads, the transfer will stall and you will never know why. Check it in your current provider’s control panel first.
2. Do not change the registrant name, company or email now. Changing those details locks most domains against transfer for 60 days (an ICANN rule). If the contact email is wrong, ask your provider to correct it and to opt out of the 60-day transfer lock at the same time — most can — or send us the details and we will guide you.
3. Do not renew the domain at your current provider unless it expires within the next 30 days. A renewal made in the 45 days before a transfer can be cancelled by the registry and refunded to the old provider, so you would pay for a year you do not get. Switch off auto-renew so it cannot happen mid-transfer. If the domain does expire within 30 days, renew it first — a domain that expires mid-transfer is a far bigger problem than a lost year — and ask the old provider to refund that renewal once the transfer completes.
4. New or recently moved domains cannot transfer yet. A domain registered, or transferred between providers, in the last 60 days is locked by the rules. Wait for the 60 days to pass; we can host the website and email on it in the meantime.
5. Leave your old hosting and email running. Cancel nothing until we confirm the move is complete. Only the domain is changing hands at this stage.

Route 1 — .uk domains (.co.uk, .uk, .org.uk)

1. Start the transfer on our transfer page so the domain has a home in your UKBox account. Nothing to pay.
2. In your current provider’s control panel, find Change IPS tag (sometimes “Nominet tag”, “transfer out” or “move to another registrar”) and enter PDR-IN. Provider-by-provider steps are below. Some providers charge for this (Names.co.uk charges £10 + VAT); some only do it through a support ticket.
3. Tell us on your ticket that the tag has been changed. We accept the incoming domain the same working day; the change is usually live within minutes and at most a couple of days.

If your provider will not change the tag, charges more than the domain is worth, or cannot be reached, Nominet — the .uk registry — will do it for you. Go to secure.nominet.org.uk, choose First time logging in or forgotten your password?, enter the email address registered against the domain, and you will be sent a login. Inside, choose to change the IPS tag to PDR-IN. Nominet charges a small fee for this (around £10 + VAT) and it usually takes effect within a day. This is also the route if your old provider has gone out of business.

Route 2 — .com, .net, .org and everything else

1. Unlock the domain. Look for “registrar lock”, “transfer lock” or a padlock icon and switch it off.
2. Switch off domain privacy (WHOIS privacy, ID protection, privacy protection). Some providers do this for you when you start a transfer out; if not, do it yourself. Privacy hides the very email address the approval is sent to.
3. Request the authorisation code. It is usually shown on screen or emailed to the registrant address within minutes; providers are obliged to give it to you within five days. Copy it exactly — no spaces at either end.
4. Order the transfer with us on the transfer page, entering the domain and the code. The price includes a full extra year.
5. Approve it. Your current provider will now email the registrant address and/or show a “transfer request” in your account. Approve or accept it and the transfer completes within hours. Ignore it and it completes automatically on the fifth day. Some providers (GoDaddy, Squarespace) quote 5–7 days, occasionally up to 15.

Once it completes you will see the domain in your UKBox client area with the new expiry date, and we take over renewals from there.

Provider-by-provider: where the buttons are

Menus move around, so if a name below does not match, search your provider’s help for “transfer away” or “IPS tag”. Whatever the provider, the four things you are looking for are the same: unlock, privacy off, authorisation code, and for .uk the IPS tag box.

GoDaddy — Domain Portfolio → select the domain → Transfer to Another Registrar. For a .uk domain you enter the IPS tag PDR-IN and choose Complete Transfer. For others, continue through the identity check (SMS, authenticator or emailed code) and use Click here to see Authorization Code; the code is also emailed to the registrant address. GoDaddy turns privacy off automatically during a transfer out; if you have their “Domain Protection” add-on, downgrade it to none first. Transfers out of GoDaddy take 5–7 days unless you approve them in the account.

123 Reg — Control Panel → Manage All next to Domains → choose the domain → Transfer to Another Registrar. The domain must be unlocked first (Domain Lock in the same area). For .uk, enter PDR-IN and Complete Transfer; you confirm with a one-time code by SMS or email and it updates within minutes. For other endings the same screen gives the authorisation code.

Names.co.uk — Online Control Panel → Services → Dashboard → select the domain → Domain Transfers → Click Here to change the Nominet TAG, enter PDR-IN and a reason. Names.co.uk charges £10 + VAT (£12) to move a domain out, for .uk and other endings alike, and completes within 48 hours. If you would rather not pay them, the Nominet route above costs about the same and bypasses them.

Wix — Domains → the Domain Actions icon next to the domain → Transfer away from Wix. For .co.uk you are asked for the IPS tag (PDR-IN) and Wix submits it; tell us the same day so we can accept it — Wix warns that unaccepted requests are rejected after five days. For other endings Wix emails the authorisation code to the registrant address and asks you to unlock and switch off private registration first. Wix will not release a domain bought, transferred in, or given new contact details in the last 60 days.

Squarespace (including former Google Domains) — Domains dashboard → the domain → switch off Domain Lock → Request transfer code; the code is emailed to the registrant address within 24 hours. Remove DNSSEC if it is on. Squarespace says transfers can take up to 15 days and applies the 60-day locks strictly. For .co.uk domains Squarespace follows Nominet’s rules instead: their help centre’s ccTLD guide has the steps, and if in doubt ask their support to set the IPS tag to PDR-IN.

Fasthosts — Hosting & Domains → Domain Names → select the domain → Transfer Out (in the Contacts & Ownership tile). For .uk enter the tag PDR-IN. For other endings click Unlock, then reveal the Authorisation Code.

IONOS (1&1) — Domains → Renewal & Transfer → select the domain. For .uk choose Change IPS tag, enter PDR-IN and save — IONOS asks that you start the transfer with us first, which our transfer page does. For other endings choose Show Authorisation Code; it can take a few minutes to appear.

Namecheap — Domain List → Manage → Sharing & Transfer tab → Transfer Out. Switch Registrar Lock off and generate the auth code, which goes to the registrant email (not necessarily your account email). For .uk domains the same tab has the IPS tag under Change; allow up to 24 hours.

Cloudflare Registrar — Manage Domains → Manage → Configuration → Unlock, then copy the authorisation code shown. After we submit the transfer, approve it in the same place to finish immediately; otherwise it auto-approves on day five. Cloudflare does not register .uk domains.

Bluehost — Domains → the domain → unlock in the overview → check the Contacts tab (the EPP code goes to the registrant email) → Move Access tab → request the EPP code. Then watch the registrant inbox for the approval email.

Porkbun — Domain Management → click the green padlock to unlock → Details → Get Authorization Code. After we submit, Registrar Transfer → Approve Transfer Out finishes it at once.

SiteGround, EuroDNS, OVH, Easyspace, Hostinger, LCN, 20i, Krystal, Heart Internet, TSOHost and others — open the domain in your control panel and look for Transfer, Transfer out or Move to another registrar: that is where unlock, privacy and the authorisation code live. For .uk domains several of these (SiteGround and EuroDNS among them) only change the IPS tag through a support request — ask them to set it to PDR-IN and to confirm when done. If they stall, use the Nominet route above.

What happens next

Once the domain is with us, nothing changes for visitors or email until we say so. If you are also moving your website and email to UKBox, that is our job, not yours: we copy every file, database and mailbox, verify it, and agree a quiet switchover time with you before any DNS changes. Reply on your ticket and we will take it from there.

Transfer sitting at pending? See Domain transfer stuck at pending: what it means. Quick overview page: how domain transfers work.