Can anyone give me a little guidance on transferring some domain names? I'm a little unsure about it. My domain names are with various registration companies and I want them all with one. The ones I want to transfer for now are without sites or hosting.

Is there anything I should be careful about or pay special attention to?

One of the domains runs out within a week so should I renew with the current company then transfer or transfer it to the new company and then renew?

I'm sure I had more questions but I can't think of them now. Cheers!

Transferring in to another registrar generally includes a one year renewal as well :).

Better to start earlier than later. Some registrar might force you to renew before transferring out.

Yes, all transfers include the 1 year renewal (except the domain is already renewed 10 years before transfer)

Nothing to worry about.

My domain names are with various registration companies and I want them all with one

Good plan so far ...


Is there anything I should be careful about or pay special attention to?

Yes, try and pick a reputable registrar - read the small print helps ...
* one that wont charge you to transfer them away again should you choose (like uk2 does)
* one that doesnt apply their own unauthorised and anti-competitive locking systems (like godaddy has)
* one that has a real address (unlike most of the cheapo-chinese registrars)
* one that has a published phone number - when something goes wrong with a domain you need support - possibly in the same country/area-code
* one that's accredited (rather than just a reseller of a reseller of a reseller)

Apply your choice of whether you need an API or an Online Portal etc.

Not everyone takes every payment method - so if you have a need for paypal or somesuch, check first.

And *always* make sure the domains are and remain in your name.


One of the domains runs out within a week so should I renew with the current company then transfer or transfer it to the new company and then renew?


If you have a week, then transfer it and TLD dependant will be renewed as part of the transfer. If you only have a couple of days, then renew it first, and you'll need to wait at least a month to start the transfer process.

In theory transfering your domain can be done within a few hours, so there's no need to renew at your current registrar first if you have over a week remaining.

Registries (ie ICANN, CIRA, etc) who offer accreditation to registrars are usually pretty diligent in their background checks, so find an accredited registrar and you should be safe.

Transferring in to another registrar generally includes a one year renewal as well :).

unless you renewed your domains within the last 45 days before transfer.

Can anyone give me a little guidance on transferring some domain names? I'm a little unsure about it. My domain names are with various registration companies and I want them all with one. The ones I want to transfer for now are without sites or hosting.

Is there anything I should be careful about or pay special attention to?

One of the domains runs out within a week so should I renew with the current company then transfer or transfer it to the new company and then renew?

I'm sure I had more questions but I can't think of them now. Cheers!

it is better to review through the transfer policy of a particular registrar you've chosen. some rules can differ.
generally:
- domains are older than 60 days and not within 7 days of expiration date (though some registrars accept even expired domains IF losing registrar releases them)
- domains are not locked (Registrar Lock, Transfer Status in Whois should be :
"OK" and not "transferpohibited")
- whois privacy is disabled. gaining and loosing registrars will be sending you confirmation e-mails and they grab info from Whois. If you are sure 100% that your WG protected e-mail will forward to your real one, don't bother with privacy. usually such forwards suck though
- you have EPP codes for all g TLD domains (and IPS tags are changed for such domains as .uk)

make sure your gaining registrar have a good 24x7 support to check statuses of transfers. if smth goes wrong, you should be able to cancel/resubmit transfers anytime.