A change of registrar is a registration service under the current Registrar Agreement and is performed by the current registrar.
A domain holder must be able to change registrars (also known as a registrar transfer) at any time, except in certain circumstances*. The procedure for changing registrars is as follows:
The domain holder contacts the current registrar to obtain an authorisation code (auth code). The current registrar verifies that the person requesting the code is the domain holder and then generates the code, which is provided to the domain holder.
The domain holder contacts the new registrar and provides the authorisation code in accordance with the new registrar's procedures.
The new registrar initiates the registrar transfer with Registry Services via the EPP protocol (transfer request).
The transfer is completed. Registry Services confirms the transfer by sending EPP messages to both the new and the current registrar. (Further details can be found in the Technical section and the EPP documentation).
The new registrar confirms the transfer to the domain holder.
*Exceptions where a registrar transfer cannot be carried out:
Incorrect domain holder information is under investigation at the registry or registrar level, for example as part of additional verification checks (data controls).
The current registrar is not permitted to charge the domain holder a fee for the registrar transfer. However, the new registrar may charge a fee for this service.
