How do I transfer a domain away from GoDaddy?

I registered a domain name through GoDaddy, but recently have been hearing some things about the company that make me want to move the domain elsewhere to ensure I don't get into any sort of trouble with the company. How do I do that?

Dave's Answer:

I have also heard mixed reviews of GoDaddy, one of the biggest and most well-known companies in the Web hosting business (thanks muchly to their rather off-color Superbowl adverts). Whether you need to transfer a domain away 'before you get into trouble with them', however, I dunno, that seems a bit drastic, but since those of us that own a bunch of domains often do transfer things from one registrar to another, it's useful to document how to do this with GoDaddy anyway...

As always, your first step is to log in to your GoDaddy account. Well, maybe your first step is to decide where you want to transfer the domain to, actually. For this example, I'll be transferring one of my domains, filmbuzz.org (tied into @FilmBuzz on Twitter), from GoDaddy to Aplonis, my hosting admin company.

On the Aplonis site is the following requirement that pops up when you're trying to arrange to have a domain transferred to their control:

As you can see, I need an "EPP" code. Generally, there's an encrypted token that you need to get from the current registrar, give it to the new registrar, and then wait while the two compare token keys and, if they're identical, arrange the actual transfer.

Now, back to GoDaddy!

On that site, you need to log in:

Once logged in you'll see:

Click on the domain name and you'll dig one level deeper into things:

Almost there. Now you need to click on "More Settings" and among the many things shown on the subsequent page are the following:

You want to click on "Authorization Code: Send by Email" to get the secret token that will allow you to transfer the domain away. Click on that and...

Okay, we can do that. Click on "OK" and a short while later you should get an email from GoDaddy a few hours later. Why it takes a few hours is beyond me, but when you get it, the transfer security token will look like this:

Authorization Info: 2784C809AE9493E

Enter that into the field indicated on the form of the registrar to which you want to transfer your domain, press submit, and the wheels should be set in motion to have the domain transferred from GoDaddy to your new registrar.

Good luck!

Categorized: Computer and Internet Basics (Article 9027, Written by Dave Taylor)
Tagged: domain name registration, godaddy, transferring domains
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Comments

I'd be interested in hearing if this worked.

I have heard horror stories that liken canceling Go-Daddy to canceling AOL. They just won't do it!

Posted by: Dan at August 19, 2009 12:06 AM

Dan, it worked just fine, but I have to say that we had to wait out the GoDaddy delay on sending the transfer request authorization to the other registrar, a week that it seems was unnecessary. But all's well that ends well, as they say.

Posted by: Dave Taylor at August 19, 2009 9:44 AM

One thing you should probably add, as I notice you moved your domain to a reseller of domain names and not to an ICANN accredited registrar is exactly that, that there might be a chance that whoever you decide to move your domain to, might be using GoDaddy anyway.

The way to check is to do a whois on the domain and see if any other company names are listed, such as in the case of your domain filmbuzz.org, it has a Sponsored Registrar of Melbourne IT.

Another way to see if your chosen company is an ICANN Accredited Registrar, is to simply look in the ICANN Accredited list http://www.icann.org/en/registrars/accredited-list.html.

Im still with GoDaddy, they're cheap and so far (5 years and ticking) have been very reliable. I am keen to know what sort of 'problems' or things I should be aware of though? Any comments...

Posted by: Christian at August 19, 2009 12:36 PM

I don't have any websites. I am not a guru. Here is the article I was basing my comment on: http://tech.slashdot.org/story/09/07/22/2023247/Registrars-Still-Ignoring-ICANN-Rules?art_pos=2

Disclaimer:
Slashdot.org is a site where users post a brief one-paragraph summary of a technology-related news article and the community of users makes comments. The comments are frequently inflammatory, politically charged, and idealistic. The comments section in each entry is usually the most most interesting part of the site. For example, a five sentence summary of a Microsoft press release can easily erupt into a comment-debate with hundreds of entries.

Anything read on slashdot should be taken with a grain of salt. But it can definitely be entertaining!

Posted by: Dan at August 19, 2009 10:09 PM

I sincerely hope all those domaintypocybersquatters quit stealing all domain names (expired or not) and stop wasting everyone's time and bandwidth by not making fake websites and fake search engines. I rest my case.

Posted by: gives me the heebie-jeebies at August 20, 2009 9:06 AM

If you feel that your domain is unsafe and can be a victim of cybersquatting, you must transfer it to some other web host.

Like you even I had my domain hosted on the server of a web host (a big one) but recently, I moved it to LimeDomains. I'm happy I did it on the right time.

Posted by: Anna Dine at September 9, 2009 3:10 AM

BEWARE of GoDaddy. I was a complete novice when I bought my domain name 1 year ago. I was easily persuaded into buying MUCH more than I needed or can use, including "private registration". Little did I understand, private registration comes with auto-renew. Now, much smarter a year later, I realize I only need 1 domain, without all the extra's. When I tried to re-lease the auto renew, I was told that until I mail them photo copies of government issue photo ID as well as other documentation, I cannot make any changes to my account. That is a huge invasion of my privacy, requiring me to hand over information not required to OPEN said private registration, nor clearly made known to me when being up-sold private registration. And until such time as I do this, they will not delete my credit card information and will bill as they choose. VERY UGLY business tactics. I feel like a hostage. I would advise anyone thinking of using GoDaddy.com to check out NoDaddy.com first. Unfortunately, I found NoDaddy after I registered with GoDaddy. I found this page I am posting on in an attempt to find help with moving my domain. PLEASE BEWARE. I have no reason to slam GoDaddy, I am sharing my honest experience. I actually planned on keeping one domain there, the only one I use, I just wanted to let go of all the extra's I don't need and can't afford. I wasn't even upset at having spent ALOT of money for things I was talked into, I figured that's the cost of ignorance. But being locked in and having my financial information kept and used at will is more than I will stand for.

Posted by: Leigh at January 6, 2011 10:36 AM

I have something to say, now that you mention it, but ...

I do have a lot to say, and questions of my own for that matter, but first I'd like to say thank you for all your efforts on this Web site by buying you a cup of coffee!

I do have a comment, now that you mention it!