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Moving your domain from Namecheap

Step by step, from Namecheap's own help pages. Last checked 26 September 2026.

Before you start: Where will your website live?

A transfer moves the domain name. Your website and email are a separate choice:

Not live yet

No worries. Move the domain now and set the website up whenever you're ready.

Keep it where it is

That's fine. Our transfer page shows whose DNS your domain uses, so you can check it stays in place.

Move it to us

We can help move your website and email too. See hosting plans

How it works

Get your domain ready to leave Namecheap

.com, .net, .org and most others: unlock it and get its transfer code (also called an EPP or auth code).

  1. In your Domain List, choose "Manage" next to the domain and open the "Sharing & Transfer" tab.
  2. In the Transfer Out section, unlock the domain and request the code.
  3. Namecheap emails the code to the domain's registrant address, which may not be your account email.

.co.uk and .uk: there is no code. Unlock it first, then ask Namecheap to change the IPS tag to ENOM. Some providers refuse the tag change while the domain is still locked, without saying why.

  1. On the same "Sharing & Transfer" tab, unlock the domain, choose "Change" next to the IPS tag, enter the new tag and save. Allow up to 24 hours.
Order the transfer with us
Put the domain into our transfer page. We confirm the price with you before anything is charged. A .co.uk or .uk moves free, because the UK registry doesn't charge for it.
Give us the transfer code
Once the price is agreed, we'll ask you for the code. (A .uk needs no code — the tag change is enough.)
We take it from there
We'll confirm when the transfer has started and again when it's complete. A .com usually takes 5–7 days. A .uk can arrive within minutes of the tag change, and usually within a day.

What Namecheap charges to leave

Namecheap's help says there is no fee from them to leave. We never charge you to leave us.

Worth knowing

  • The domain has to be more than 60 days old, and not transferred in the last 60 days.
  • If Namecheap says "Sorry, we were unable to update your IPS tag", the domain is most likely still locked: select Unlock first, then change the tag again. (Found on a real move, 26 September 2026.)
  • For a .uk the tag change can go through straight away, even though Namecheap mentions 24–48 hours.

Where this comes from

We wrote this guide from Namecheap's own help pages, checked on 26 September 2026, and keep a link to an archived copy in case theirs changes. If anything here doesn't match what you see, follow their page — and let us know, so we can update ours.

Start your transfer

Moving from somewhere else? GoDaddy · 123-reg · Names.co.uk · IONOS · Fasthosts · Krystal · Squarespace · Wix