GlossaryThe domain name
Transfer lock
Definition
A transfer lock is a status set on a domain name that makes it refuse any request to move to another registrar. It shows up in the domain's public record as “clientTransferProhibited”, and the registrant can lift it from their own account.
A safeguard, not an obstacle
Without this lock, a transfer started from a compromised mailbox can go through — and getting a domain back from a stranger takes far longer than waiting for a lock to come off. Most registrars set it by default at registration, which is a good thing.
It also explains a fair share of the transfers that “just do not work”: nothing is broken, the lock is simply still on. Do not confuse it with the waiting periods in ICANN's transfer policy, which cannot be lifted at all: a domain cannot change registrar within sixty days of being created or of a previous transfer.
A domain's status codes
They sit in the public record, each with the link that explains it.
Domain Status: clientTransferProhibited https://icann.org/epp#clientTransferProhibited
Domain Status: clientUpdateProhibited https://icann.org/epp#clientUpdateProhibited
Domain Status: serverTransferProhibited https://icann.org/epp#serverTransferProhibitedThe prefix tells you who set the lock. “client…” comes from the registrar, and the registrant can take it off. “server…” comes from the registry: that one needs a request, and sometimes a dispute to settle first.
The usual mistake
Starting the transfer the day before launch. The lock is on, you take it off, you ask for the authorization code, and then you still have to wait on an email confirmation sent to a registrant address nobody reads.
How to avoid it: Set the transfer up a week ahead: lift the lock, get the authorization code, check that the registrant's contact address is actually read by someone. Then put the lock back once the transfer completes — an unlocked domain is a domain somebody can move on your behalf.
Source: The status codes come from the EPP protocol, whose list and meanings ICANN publishes. The waiting periods after creation or transfer come from its Inter-Registrar Transfer Policy.
Related terms
Where to go next
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