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Domain Transfer Timeline Estimator
When it starts, when to approve, when it completes.
How it works
How long will your domain transfer take? Get the dates
A gTLD transfer has fixed mechanics: unlock and fetch the auth code, submit and pay at the new registrar, confirm the authorisation email, then a five-day window in which the losing registrar may object before the registry auto-approves. Delays come from the registrar you are leaving and from how quickly you click approve. Pick your situation and start date, optionally add the domain for a live expiry and lock check, and get every expected date on a calendar.
Results appear here after you click Estimate dates.
How this works
- 1
Model the registrar you leave
Instant-code registrars add zero days; emailed codes add one; ticket-based registrars add up to three.
- 2
Apply ICANN timers
Registries auto-approve five days after submission and cap a transfer at fifteen days; manual approval collapses the wait to minutes.
- 3
Check the real record
If you give a domain we read expiry, age and lock status from RDAP and warn when they collide with the schedule.
Frequently asked questions
- How long does a domain transfer take?
- For .com, .net, .org and other gTLDs, up to five days after you submit the request and pay, because the losing registrar gets a five-day window to respond. If you approve the confirmation at the losing registrar, it usually completes within an hour. Country-code domains follow registry-specific timelines.
- Can I speed up a domain transfer?
- Yes. Most large registrars have an Accept transfer or Approve button in the domain's transfer-out section once a request is pending. Clicking it tells the registry to proceed immediately instead of waiting out the five days.
- What happens if I do nothing after submitting?
- The registry treats silence as consent. Five calendar days after the request, the transfer completes automatically, your domain moves to MailShrine and a year is added to the expiry on most extensions.
- Why would a transfer take 15 days?
- Fifteen days is the maximum a single request can stay pending under ICANN policy. In practice it only happens when the losing registrar rejects (NACKs) the request, for example because of an invalid auth code or a lock, and the request has to be resubmitted.
- Does the transfer timer run over weekends?
- Registry timers are calendar days, so weekends count. Registrars that process unlocks and auth codes by support ticket, common in Nigeria and for some ccTLDs, usually work business days only, which is why their steps are padded.
Every MailShrine domain includes WHOIS privacy, transfer lock, Anycast DNS with DNSSEC and two business mailboxes.