Before you start the transfer process, there are some key parties you need to know.
- You will have registered your .au domain name licence with one of two types of domain name providers: an auDA accredited .au registrar, or a .au reseller. Learn about the differences between registrars and resellers.
- The registrar of record is the registrar that manages your .au domain name licence in the .au registry. Every .au domain name licence has a registrar of record, even if you registered through a reseller.
Transferring between registrants
You can transfer your .au domain name licence to another person at any time during the licence period, as long as you and the person you’re transferring the licence to is eligible to hold it at the date of transfer. To check your eligibility, refer to the eligibility and allocation criteria at section 2.4 of the .au Licensing Rules.
You can initiate a transfer, or ‘change of registrant’, by contacting your domain name provider (registrar or reseller) via their website.
On transfer of a licence, any full years remaining on the licence will automatically be transferred to the new registrant, up to a maximum licence period of five years. Only full years will be transferred over, so if a licence is transferred with three years and two months remaining, the new registrant will enter a new licence agreement with a period with three years.
The person who will receive the .au domain name licence will need to:
- Enter into a new licence agreement
- Meet all requirements as a registrant
- Pay the licence fee.
Some .au domain name providers may charge a fee for performing the transfer, as they need to validate that both parties are eligible to hold the .au domain name licence at the time of transfer.
If your .au domain name licence is being transferred as part of a contract or agreement - like the sale of a business – you must transfer the licence within 28 days of entering the contract or agreement, unless the agreement specifies otherwise.
Note that buying a business does not mean the domain name licence is automatically transferred to the new owner. If you are buying or selling a business, remember to arrange the transfer of the .au domain name licence to the purchasing party.
If you need to find out who your registrar of record is, you can find their name and contact details using the WHOIS tool.
Transferring between domain name providers
Under the .au Licensing Rules, there’s a formal process to request a transfer of a .au domain name licence to a different registrar of record.
Registered with a .au registrar
If you registered your .au domain name licence with an auDA accredited .au registrar, that provider is the registrar of record. Only an auDA accredited .au registrar can be a registrar of record in the .au domain.
Registered with a .au reseller
If you registered your .au domain name licence with a .au reseller, you will still have a registrar of record, even though you may not have a direct contract with them. The registrar of record will be the organisation through whom the reseller registered the .au domain name licence. You can find out who the registrar of record is using the WHOIS tool.
Process to transfer a .au domain name licence to a different registrar of record
To transfer your .au domain name licence to a different registrar of record, you must meet the requirements set out at section 2.13 of the .au Licensing Rules. This includes ensuring:
- You remain eligible to hold the .au domain name licence at the time of transfer
- The .au domain name licence being transferred is not subject to any current complaints process, dispute resolution or court proceedings.
If you meet the requirements, start the transfer process by contacting the registrar you wish to transfer your .au domain name licence to via their website.
Your preferred new registrar will advise you of the information you need to provide and the steps you need to take to complete the transfer. This will include providing the transfer authorisation code (EPP authInfo) for your .au domain name licence. This is different from the username and password you may use to access your account with your .au domain name provider (reseller or registrar). The code is unique for each .au domain name licence, whereas your domain name account at your domain name provider may be used to manage multiple domain name registrations, and other services such as email and web hosting.
You can find your transfer authorisation code (which is sometimes referred to as a domain name password or EPP authInfo code) by:
- Contacting your current registrar by email or phone and they will send it to the registrant contact email address listed in the .au registry. You can check the contact email listed in the .au registry using the WHOIS tool.
- Using the .au domain password recovery tool.
Once all required information has been provided to your new preferred registrar, the registrar will validate the information you have provided.
Once the transfer has been approved, it can take up to three days for the transfer to take effect.
There is no fee for any transfer of a .au domain name licence between registrars.
For transfers between .au resellers where there is no change of the registrar of record, contact your registrar of record, which you can find on the WHOIS, for information on the transfer process.
When you can't transfer your .au domain name
If your .au domain name licence is subject to a complaint to the Licence Review Panel, under internal review or under the auDA Dispute Resolution Policy (auDRP), you cannot conduct a transfer. This includes a transfer to another registrant or to another .au domain name provider, as per the terms of the auDRP.