# A domain transfer is stuck

> You started moving a domain to a new registrar and it still isn't finished, or it says Failed.

Source: https://infranest.io/docs/domain-transfer-stuck
Last updated: 2026-10-26

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If you've started moving a domain to a new registrar and it seems stuck — or it says **Failed** — this article explains what's happening and what to do. It's written for anyone managing domains in InfraNest, no technical background needed.

## Overview
- Domain transfers are slow by design: the registry and your current registrar each get time to confirm the move, and that sets the pace — not InfraNest.
- Most transfers finish in **5 to 7 days**. InfraNest gives up after **14 days**.
- The domain keeps working the whole time — your website and email are not affected.

## See where it is
1. Go to **Domains** and open the domain.
2. A yellow banner at the top says what the transfer is waiting for. The page checks again every 15 seconds while it's open.

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> [!NOTE]
> Any settings you chose while the domain was moving — auto-renew, transfer lock, WHOIS privacy — are saved and applied automatically once the transfer finishes.

## What each stage is waiting for

**Transferring: "approve it at your current registrar".** The request is on its way to your current registrar, which may send you an approval email. Check your inbox, including spam, and approve it. Many registrars also let you approve it in their control panel. If you don't, your current registrar usually has up to five days to let the domain go before the registry moves it anyway — which is most of the wait.

**Active.** The domain has arrived, and you get a notification in InfraNest. Any settings you chose while it was moving (auto-renew, transfer lock, WHOIS privacy) are applied automatically.

## Why a transfer gets stuck or fails

**The domain is still locked.** Your current registrar won't release a domain that has its transfer lock switched on. Switch it off in their control panel. In InfraNest, the domain's status codes show this as **Transfer locked by the registrar**. If it says **Transfer locked by the registry**, only your current registrar can ask for that to be lifted.

**The auth code was wrong or expired.** Some registrars only keep an auth code (also called an EPP code or transfer code) valid for a few days. Ask your current registrar for a fresh one.

**The domain moved less than 60 days ago.** Registries block a transfer for 60 days after a domain was registered or last transferred. The check before you started tells you the date it can move from.

**The approval email never arrived.** That email goes to the domain's admin contact. If WHOIS privacy hides that address, the email may never reach you. Approve the transfer in your current registrar's control panel instead, or switch privacy off there for a day.

**Your current registrar said no.** Some registrars refuse a transfer when the domain has unpaid invoices, is in a dispute, or has just been renewed. The **Failed** banner shows their reason after **Reason:**. Contact them to sort it out.

## Starting again after a failed transfer
1. Fix the cause first: unlock the domain, or get a new auth code from your current registrar.
2. Select **Order it again** on the domain page, or select **Add domain** on the **Domains** page.
3. Search for the domain again and select **Add transfer**.

> [!TIP]
> There's no button to retry a failed transfer directly — fixing the underlying cause and starting again is the way to go.

## Good to know
- You can't change **Auto-renew**, transfer lock or WHOIS privacy until the transfer finishes. What you chose is saved and applied as soon as the domain arrives.
- Under **Notifications**, **Transfer started** and **Transfer failed** decide whether you're emailed when a transfer begins and when one is rejected or runs out of time.
- A domain that expires in the next few weeks is safer to renew at your current registrar first.