In order for a domain name to be successfully transferred to QTH.com, a number of things must take place:
- The domain must not have been REGISTERED or TRANSFERRED within the last 60 days. Due to ICANN rules, you must wait 60 days after registering or transferring a domain, before attempting to transfer a domain.
- The "Domain Lock" needs to be disabled at the current registrar. Sometimes they call this "Domain Protect" or "Registrar Transfer Lock" or who knows. But it's a lock that prevents transfers from occurring. This lock has to be turned off before the domain can be transferred. To see if your domain is locked, go to http://www.internic.net/whois.html and look for the STATUS. If it is OK, then the domain is unlocked. If it says TRANSFER PROHIBITED or similar, then it is locked. (the above web site only works for .com, .net, .org, .biz, .info and a few others -- if your domain doesn't work, let us know and we'll help you find out the Lock Status.)
- The "Administrative Contact" must have a good e-mail address. Once a domain transfer is submitted, an e-mail is sent to the e-mail address listed as the Administrative Contact for your domain. This e-mail asks for approval to proceed with the transfer. So, it is vital that the Administrative Contact e-mail address listed for your domain can get this e-mail message. To see what e-mail address is listed for your Administrative Contact, you will have to log into your current domain name provider and check the "domain contacts" or sometimes called the "WHOIS contacts" for your domain. If the e-mail address listed as the Administrative Contact is incorrect, you must work with the current domain name provider to get that fixed, before submitting a domain transfer request. VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: Most domain providers will immediately lock the domain for 60 days, if you edit the contact information, thus blocking the transfer of the domain for 60 days. Avoid making changes to the domain contacts, unless absolutely necessary.
- Obtain the "EPP Domain Transfer Key" from the current registrar. All .COM, .NET, .ORG, .INFO, .US , .CA, .BIZ, .MOBI, .IN, .NAME, and .BZ domain name transfers require an EPP Domain Transfer Key (or sometimes called an "Authentication Code") from the current domain provider. Usually your current provider will have a domain name management control panel, where you can log in and request that they e-mail you the key code. And some providers require that you call them and ask for this key code. Unfortunately, some providers make it difficult to obtain this key code (as they know that they are losing your business if you ask for this key). Be persistent and demand the EPP Domain Transfer Key.
A note about EXPIRED DOMAINS: It's always best to transfer your domain BEFORE it expires, however if your domain name has expired, you can still transfer it to another registrar during the renewal grace period. You must complete the transfer during its grace period before the domain name falls into "redemption," which is when the domain name begins its transfer back to the registry for someone else to register it. The length of the grace period differs by domain name extension. Most general top-level domain name extensions (gTLDs) like .com and .net have a 42-day grace period between expiration and redemption. Country-code extensions (ccTLDs) like .ca and .jp might have very different grace periods or no grace period at all. Note that if the registrar has already begun the deletion process on the domain name and its status shows it to be within a 30-day Redemption Grace Period, the name must be restored by your current registrar before it can be transferred -- ask your current registrar for help with this.
Once you have taken care of the steps above, then the final step is to order and pay for the domain transfer, by coming to our web site at https://hosting.qth.com and clicking on Transfer Domain.
MORE TRANSFER HELP:
If you are moving away from one of these providers, these guides will give you some additional help:
