Domain registrar · SiteGround
Transfer a domain to SiteGround
Every registrar transfer follows the same ICANN process, so the part worth knowing is what the receiving registrar does differently. This page is about SiteGround as the destination — its requirements, its flow, and the ways it refuses a transfer.
Nothing here depends on where the domain is now. Getting the authorization code is your current registrar's business; everything below is SiteGround's.
Checked against SiteGround's documentation on August 9, 2026.
What is different about SiteGround
The process is standardised. These are the parts that are not — the things that are true of SiteGround and not of everyone else.
It checks eligibility before taking your money
SiteGround verifies the domain is transferable and only then asks for the authorization code. A problem surfaces before you have paid, which is the friendlier order and worth knowing if you are unsure the domain is eligible.
The fee includes a year's renewal
On most gTLDs the transfer charge is not purely a fee — it extends the registration by a year on top of the time already remaining, which carries across. You are buying a year, not paying a toll.
An extra rule beyond the ICANN minimum
More than 10 days must remain before the domain expires. This sits on top of the standard 60-day rules, so a domain that looks eligible elsewhere can still be refused here.
An extra rule beyond the ICANN minimum
The domain must be in Active rather than Locked status. This sits on top of the standard 60-day rules, so a domain that looks eligible elsewhere can still be refused here.
An extra rule beyond the ICANN minimum
Country-code domains follow separate rules and may not be supported. This sits on top of the standard 60-day rules, so a domain that looks eligible elsewhere can still be refused here.
SiteGround at a glance
- Documented duration
- up to 14 days
- Adds a year
- Yes, on most gTLDs
- Where to start
- Client Area → Services → Domains → Transfer
- Eligibility check
- Before payment
- Keeps your nameservers
- Preserved by default
Step-by-step
- 1On your computer
Confirm the domain is eligible
The waiting periods are enforced at the registry, so they cannot be waived by either company. Check before you spend anything.
- More than 60 days since registration and since any previous transfer
- No registrant contact change in the last 60 days
- More than 10 days must remain before the domain expires
- The domain must be in Active rather than Locked status
- Country-code domains follow separate rules and may not be supported
Check status and dateswhois example.com | grep -i -E 'creation|expiry|transfer|status' - 2At your current provider
Unlock the domain and get the authorization code
This happens at your current registrar, not here. Every registrar has both controls somewhere; what varies is whether the code appears on screen or arrives by email.
- Turn off the transfer lock, then request the code
- Codes are case- and character-sensitive — a trailing space from copy-paste is enough to have one rejected
- If the code is emailed, it goes to the registrant address on the domain, so make sure that is one you can read
- 3At SiteGround
Start the transfer at SiteGround
Client Area → Services → Domains → Transfer.
- Eligibility is checked first, so you will be told about problems before paying
- 4Either side
Approve the transfer rather than waiting it out
Left alone, a transfer completes on ICANN's timetable after about five days. Approving the confirmation email at the losing registrar is what actually accelerates it.
- Watch the registrant email for messages from both registrars
- SiteGround documents up to 14 days
- 5At SiteGround
Check what arrived
Once the domain appears in your SiteGround account, confirm the things that quietly do not carry over.
- Auto-renew is off by default after most transfers — turn it on
- Nameservers unchanged, so the site never went down
- Expiry extended by the year the fee covered
- Contact details correct, and privacy re-enabled if you want it
Best practice
The habits that make this go smoothly, independent of which providers are involved.
- Renew before transferring if the domain expires soon — SiteGround enforces its own expiry margin on top of the usual rules
- Leave nameservers alone during the transfer, and move DNS as a separate step afterwards
- Do not change registrant contact details in the 60 days before a planned transfer
- Use SiteGround's eligibility check before paying, and fix anything it flags first
- Turn auto-renew on immediately after the transfer completes
- Keep the old registrar account open until the domain has definitely landed at SiteGround
What goes wrong
The failures that actually happen when SiteGround is the destination.
Changing contact details can lock the domain for 60 days
Can cause downtimeThe most avoidable failure in any registrar transfer. Someone updates the registrant email so they can receive the auth code, and that change starts a fresh 60-day transfer lock — turning a one-week job into a two-month wait. If the address on file is readable, leave it alone. Do contact tidying after the transfer, not before.
A transfer does not move your website
Can cause downtimeAfter this completes, SiteGround bills you for the domain and your website is still wherever it was. If you then cancel the old hosting, the site goes offline — the transfer did nothing to prevent that.
Where are you coming from?
Most of this job depends on the destination. These are the bits that depend on where you are coming from.
Getting a code out of SiteGround later
Worth knowing on the way in, because the ability to leave is a fair thing to check. SiteGround exposes it at Client Area → Services → Domains → Settings → the kebab menu → Get EPP Code, shown on screen.
If your current registrar emails the code
Expect a delay of up to 24 hours before you can even begin at SiteGround, which is dead time you can spend confirming eligibility.
If the code is refused
Check for whitespace at either end before assuming it is wrong. SiteGround checks before charging, so a refused code costs you time rather than money.
Know exactly where you are moving from?
Common questions
How long does a transfer to SiteGround take?
SiteGround documents up to 14 days. Approving the confirmation email at your current registrar shortens it considerably; ignoring it means waiting out the automatic release.
Will my website or email go down?
No, provided the nameservers stay as they are. A registrar transfer preserves the existing DNS delegation, so resolution is unaffected and visitors notice nothing.
Why is my transfer being refused?
In order of likelihood: fewer than 60 days since registration or a previous transfer; a registrant contact change inside that window; the domain still locked; a wrong or expired authorization code; or too close to expiry. SiteGround also applies its own rules on top.
Do I lose the time left on my registration?
No. The remaining period carries across and the transfer adds a further year on most gTLDs.
Reference documentation
Provider interfaces change. When these steps and the official documentation disagree, the documentation wins.
The same job at other providers
Transfer a domain to Bluehost
It takes payment before it will accept your code
Transfer a domain to GoDaddy
It checks eligibility before taking your money
Transfer a domain to Hostinger
It takes payment before it will accept your code
Transfer a domain to Cloudflare
It checks eligibility before taking your money
Want this done for you?
I move sites onto SiteGround regularly — files, database, DNS and the registrar — with the old provider kept as a rollback until it has settled.