Moving a domain to another registrar

The authorisation code is the whole mechanism

Your current registrar issues an authorisation code — called AuthInfo, EPP code or transfer key depending on the extension. Without it the new registrar has no way to prove you are entitled to the name.

The code usually expires after a set period, and the domain must be unlocked. Those two details account for most failed transfers, and both are visible in the panel before you begin.

What it costs

Most extensions charge a transfer fee comparable to one year of renewal; some, including .pl, charge nothing. In many generic extensions the transfer also extends the registration by a year, so the fee is not money thrown away — you are buying another year at the same time.

Your website does not have to go down

A transfer between registrars does not change DNS settings, provided the new registrar keeps your existing name servers. Downtime appears when you move hosting and email at the same time — a separate operation, better scheduled for a different week.

The calm sequence is: transfer the domain, confirm everything still works, and only then consider moving the services.

Before you start

Check three things. That you can read the email address attached to the domain, that the domain is not expiring within days, and that it is not inside a lock period following a recent registration or an earlier transfer. Those lock periods are set by each registry and differ between .pl, .de and .com.