How to transfer a .uk domain name
Changing registrar and changing registrant are two different jobs. Here is each one, step by step, from Nominet's own pages.
- There are two different jobs. A registrar change moves who bills and manages the domain. A registrant transfer changes whose name it is registered in. Most people who say 'transfer' mean one and get told about the other.
- Your registrar should do either one for you, usually free. If they cannot, you can do it yourself in Nominet Online Services for £10 plus VAT per transaction, however many domains are in it.
- Both have a five day clock. The gaining registrar has up to five days to accept a registrar change; the new registrant has five days to accept a registrant transfer. Miss it and you start again.
Nominet runs the .uk registry, and it publishes both processes on its own support site, which is where everything below comes from. The confusing part is that the word 'transfer' covers two completely different things. Work out which one you need first, because the steps, the people who have to agree and the thing that changes at the end are all different.
| What you want | Which process | Who has to agree | Cost if you do it yourself |
|---|---|---|---|
| Move the domain to a new provider, same owner | Registrar change | The new registrar, if they use a handshake | £10 plus VAT per transaction |
| Put the domain in a different name or company | Registrant transfer | The incoming registrant | £10 plus VAT per transaction |
| Both, for example buying a business and moving its domain to your provider | Registrant transfer, then registrar change | Both of the above | £10 plus VAT each |
| Fix the email address Nominet holds for you | Re-establish identity | Nominet, after identity checks | £10 plus VAT |
Fees and processes from Nominet's .uk support pages, checked on 21 September 2026. Your registrar may do any of these for you at no charge, which is always worth asking first.
Three things to check before you start
- Look the domain up on Nominet's lookup tool. It shows the current registrar and the expiry date, which tells you both who you are moving away from and how much time you have.
- Make sure you can read the admin contact email on the record. Nominet writes there, and both processes start with logging in to Nominet Online Services using that address.
- Do not start a transfer in the last week before expiry. Renew first, then move. A domain that drops mid-transfer is a far worse problem than a renewal you paid slightly early.
Changing registrar: moving the domain to a new provider
This is the one most people want. The domain stays in your name; it just stops being managed and billed by one company and starts being managed and billed by another. Nominet's advice is to start with the company you are leaving: "If you are thinking of switching your registrar, we recommend you contact your existing registrar as they should be able to do this for you." Most will, and most will not charge. If they will not, or cannot, you do it yourself.
- Log in to Nominet Online Services using the admin contact email address held against the domain.
- Tick the domain or domains you want to move.
- Select 'Change Registrar'.
- Enter the new registrar's name, or their TAG. Every UK registrar has one and will tell you it if you ask.
- Enter your invoice and payment details and confirm.
The fee is "a single transaction fee to switch to a new registrar of £10 plus VAT, even if you're moving more than one domain name in the transaction", so if you hold several domains, move them in one go rather than one at a time. Then watch the clock: some registrars have what Nominet calls a 'handshake' enabled, meaning they must accept the incoming domain, and "A registrar has up to 5 days to accept your domain name(s), otherwise your request will time out and an automatic refund will be issued". Tell the new registrar the transfer is coming so it does not sit in a queue.
One thing a registrar change does not do: it does not move your website or your email. Those follow the DNS, not the registration. Set up the new hosting and mailboxes first, check them on a temporary address, and only then point the DNS at them. The order matters, and I go through it in what to ask for when you leave your web designer.
Changing registrant: putting the domain in a different name
Nominet calls this a registrant transfer, and it is what you need when the name on the registration has to change completely. Its own examples are selling a business or a domain, moving a domain from one individual to another, and moving a domain from an individual to a limited company. Turning your sole trader domain into a company asset is a registrant transfer. So is buying a domain from someone else. Correcting a typo in your own name is not.
Again, ask your registrar first. If they cannot help, "you can start this process yourself in your Nominet Online Services account. Our transfer service costs £10 plus VAT, even if you're transferring more than one domain name." The process runs from the current registrant's side, through a short series of steps in the account, and either party can pay the fee. Then the other end has to say yes: "The new registrant will have 5 days in which they must accept the transfer, or else it will time out and you will need to complete the process again."
So before you start, agree with the other side in writing: the exact name the domain is going into, which email address the acceptance will arrive at, and who is paying. Five days sounds generous until somebody is on holiday. If the current registrant will not engage at all, this is a different problem, and I have written it up separately in my web designer has disappeared.
If you cannot get into the email address on the record
This blocks both processes, and it is common when a domain was set up years ago by someone who has since moved on. Nominet's position: "If you no longer have access to the email address that we have listed against your domain name registration, and are unable to update this through your registrar, you will need to re-establish your identity in order to update your contact details." There is a re-establish identity form inside Nominet Online Services, and "There is a fee of £10 plus VAT to re-establish your identity and update the email address that we hold against your domain name." Do this first, then the transfer.
What changes on 9 February 2027
Nominet is standardising .uk on the same registry protocols the rest of the world uses, and it has published the transition date as Tuesday 9 February 2027. Three changes are worth knowing about as a domain owner, although none of them needs anything from you today.
| Today | From 9 February 2027 | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| IPS TAG | Accreditation | A rename. Nominet says "The change from TAG to Accreditation is one of naming, rather than any substantive detail beneath" |
| Nominet's own transfer process | Standard EPP Pull transfer | The gaining registrar pulls the domain, as with .com and other gTLDs |
| No authorisation code | Optional Transfer Authorisation Code (TAC) | A code valid for 14 days, invalid once used, if your registrar requires one |
| WHOIS | RDAP | The public lookup changes format; registrant details still are not published without consent |
Source: Nominet registrars, preparing for standardisation. If a provider asks you for a 'TAC' after that date, it is the same idea as a TAG: proof you are entitled to move the domain.
Do not lose it while you are moving it
A .uk domain expires on the anniversary of its registration, and from that moment it runs down a fixed clock: renewable for 30 days in the Expiry Grace Period, still renewable from 30 to 90 days in the Redemption Grace Period although it appears on the daily drop list, queued for deletion from 90 to 95 days, and deleted at 95 days, at which point anyone can register it. Nominet also warns that "Your registrar may follow a different process to this, which may result in your domain name and associated services being suspended before the times stated below". You can renew up to ten years ahead. If the domain is your business name, do that and stop thinking about it.
Who to ask when it goes wrong
Nominet's domain support team takes questions from registrants directly, not only from registrars, at domainsupport@nominet.uk or +44 (0) 330 236 9470, Monday to Friday from 8:00am to 6:00pm UK time, closed on bank holidays. If you are stuck between two providers each telling you it is the other one's job, calling the registry is usually what unsticks it.
If you are moving your domain because you are moving away from whoever built your site, the domain is only one item on the list. The rest of it is in what to ask for when you leave your web designer, and the reason this all matters is in do you actually own your website. If you want the new site built and the move handled for you, that is what I do, from £199.
Sources
Common questions.
How much does it cost to transfer a .uk domain?
Nothing, if your registrar does it for you, and many do. If you have to do it yourself through Nominet Online Services, Nominet charges £10 plus VAT as a single transaction fee, whether you are changing registrar or changing registrant, and whether the transaction covers one domain or several.
How long does a .uk domain transfer take?
Usually days rather than weeks. On a registrar change, a gaining registrar that uses a handshake has up to five days to accept, after which the request times out and is automatically refunded. On a registrant transfer, the incoming registrant has five days to accept. In practice both complete quickly once everyone knows it is coming.
Can my current provider refuse to release my .uk domain?
They can decline to run the process for you, but they cannot keep a domain registered in your name. If the domain is in your name and you can access the admin contact email, you can change registrar yourself through Nominet Online Services without their involvement. If the domain is registered in their name, that is a registrant transfer and they do have to agree.
Do I need an authorisation code to move a .uk domain?
Not today. Unlike .com, .uk has not used authorisation codes, only the registrar's TAG. That changes at standardisation on 9 February 2027, when transfers move to the standard EPP model with optional Transfer Authorisation Codes that are valid for 14 days and invalid once used.