Getting Started: Transfer Your Domain Name to GreenGeeks

If you initially registered your domain name with another host or a domain registrar, you can transfer the domain to GreenGeeks, so all of your website management and billing is in a single account.

Transferring a domain name to GreenGeeks is a relatively easy task. But a few requirements must be met before any domain transfer can be done. We’ll take you through the steps to make sure your domain is ready.

First, a couple of questions:

Has the domain been registered for at least 60 days? A domain is not eligible for transfer until 60 days after initial registration.

Has the domain recently been renewed? A domain should not be transferred for 45 days after renewal due to an obscure ICANN rule. Transferring a domain within the 45 day period after renewal may result in losing the renewal credit, in which case you’ll have to seek a refund from the previous registrar.

Is the domain expired or close to the expiration date? GreenGeeks recommends any domain that has less than 2 weeks prior to expiration be renewed with the existing registrar before beginning the domain transfer process.

If you start a transfer before the domain expires, it will still complete the transfer after it has expired but the domain will enter a pending transfer state, and the domain will be unavailable until the gaining registrar renews the domain upon completion of the transfer.

Additionally, if the transfer fails for any reason, your domain may be expired and you may not be able to restart the domain transfer or may be forced to pay an additional fee to retrieve the domain registration.

Steps to Transfer Your Domain Name to GreenGeeks

1. Check the domain contact information. You should be the “Admin Email” in the whois record for the domain. The administrative email contact authorizes the domain transfer once the process has begun.
2. Disable WHOIS Privacy Protection. Depending on the TLD, if your domain uses WHOIS Privacy Protection, it may need to be disabled while the domain is being transferred so you can respond to transfer confirmation emails.
3. Disable DNSSEC. If you have Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC) enabled on your domain, you’ll need to disable any DNSSEC records prior to the transfer to avoid DNS resolution issues. GreenGeeks can then re-enable DNSSEC as needed once the transfer is completed.

   If you need to retain the existing DNSSEC records during the domain transfer process, you’ll need to provide GreenGeeks the DNSSEC keys prior to updating the nameservers, or your domain may fail to resolve upon nameserver update due to invalid DNSSEC.

4. Point the domain’s name servers to GreenGeeks.
   The GreenGeeks nameservers are as follows:
   ns1.greengeeks.net
   ns2.greengeeks.net

   Contact your current domain registrar for name server update instructions. Note that the nameservers cannot be changed while the domain name transfer is in progress.

5. Unlock the domain. Contact your current registrar for instructions.
6. Get the domain authorization code. Contact your current registrar for the code (they may refer to it as an “Auth Code” or an “EPP Code”).
7. Complete the Domain Transfer Form, and we will start the transfer process.

Domain transfers can take seven days to complete. In some cases, that time can be reduced if you respond to authorization emails sent to the domain’s admin contact as quickly as possible but not all registrars offer the ability to expedite domain transfers.

Which Domains Are Eligible to Transfer?

There are almost 2,000 Top Level Domains (TLD – the part of the domain after the dot).

And while many of them can be transferred to GreenGeeks, there are some cases where a transfer is not possible.

To confirm that your domain is eligible for transfer, check this list, and if your TLD appears there, it can be transferred to GreenGeeks.