Before You Transfer
A transfer moves who looks after your domain name. Your website and email are a separate choice, so decide first where they will live.
1. Where will your website and email live?
- Not live yet: no worries. Move the domain now and set things up whenever you're ready.
- Staying where they are: leave your nameservers as they are. Check whose DNS the domain uses: our transfer page tells you when you enter the domain. If the provider you're leaving runs it, they may remove it once the domain goes, so ask us and we'll help copy your records across first.
- Moving to us too: set up your hosting account, upload your website and create your email accounts first. Then point your nameservers to
ns1.gravityhost.co.ukandns2.gravityhost.co.uk, check everything works, and start the transfer. That way there's no downtime.
2. Unlock your domain
At your current provider, turn off the transfer lock (also called registrar lock). Do this for a .uk too: some providers refuse to change a .uk's tag while it's locked, without saying why.
3. Get what the move needs
- .com, .net, .org and most others: the transfer code (EPP or auth code) from your current provider.
- .co.uk and .uk: no code. Change the domain's IPS tag to
ENOMin your current provider's control panel.
Step-by-step guides from each provider's own help pages: GoDaddy · 123-reg · Names.co.uk · IONOS · Namecheap · Fasthosts · Krystal · Squarespace · Wix.
Starting the Transfer
Go to Transfer a Domain and enter your domain name. We look it up and tell you who it's registered with, when it expires, whose DNS it uses, and whether anything would stop the move.
- .com, .net, .org and most others: enter the transfer code and pay. We send the transfer straight away.
- .co.uk and .uk: once the tag is ENOM, press Check and bring it across while signed in. It's free.
- Anything else (for example a .eu, or a .uk close to expiry): press Request Transfer and we'll confirm the details with you before anything is charged.
Transfer Timeline
| Domain Type | Typical Duration |
|---|---|
| .com, .net, .org | 5–7 days |
| .co.uk, .org.uk, .uk | Often within minutes of the tag change; usually within a day |
| .eu | 5–7 days |
| .io, .shop, .pw | 5–7 days |
What Happens During the Transfer
- Your current provider, or our registrar's system, may send an approval email. Approving it speeds things up.
- On .com, .net, .org, .eu, .app, .io, .shop and .pw, a year is added to your current expiry date (up to the ten-year maximum). The transfer price is a renewal you're paying early, so you don't lose time you'd already bought. If the domain expired and was renewed in the last 45 days or so, the transfer won't add a further year, so wait until then.
- A .de transfer costs the same as a year's renewal but doesn't add a year: it keeps its current renewal date.
- On .co.uk, .org.uk, .uk and .pl the transfer is free and your expiry date doesn't change. You pay the normal renewal when it falls due. The one exception is moving one close to expiry (within 90 days for .uk names, 30 for .pl), when it's renewed as part of the move.
- We email you when the transfer starts and when it completes, and you can follow it under Services.
Moving a Domain Away From Us
You're always free to leave, and we never charge you to. Open the domain under Services and use Move this domain to another provider: unlock it and have the transfer code emailed to you, or for a .uk, enter your new provider's tag. We keep a copy of your DNS settings first, in case you need them.
Supported Domain Extensions
We currently support transfers for: .co.uk, .org.uk, .uk, .com, .net, .org, .eu, .de, .app, .io, .shop and .pw. The exact price for each (registration, transfer, renewal and redemption) is on our domain pricing page.
Need Help?
If you're stuck or unsure about any step, open a support ticket and we'll walk you through it.