Knowledge Base

You can move a domain you already own to Melonslab so it sits in the same panel and on the same invoice as the rest of your services. You remain the domain holder throughout.

Before you start

Four things at your current registrar, and one here. Getting these right is the difference between a transfer that completes on its own and one that sits in limbo for a week.

• Unlock the domain. Registrars ship domains locked against transfer. Look for a transfer lock or registrar lock setting.
• Get the authorisation code. Also called an EPP code or auth code. Your current registrar issues it, sometimes by email rather than on screen.
• Check the domain is not too new. Most top-level domains refuse a transfer within 60 days of registration, or within 60 days of a previous transfer. Your current registrar can tell you the date.
• Check it has not expired. An expired domain usually has to be renewed or restored before it can move.
• Make sure your contact details are correct in My Melonslab. They are sent on as registrant data, and a transfer is held until any inaccurate or out-of-date information is corrected.

Have your nameservers to hand

This is the step people miss, and it is the one that causes real damage.

A transfer does not copy your current nameservers. We send the nameservers entered on the order form to the registry when the transfer completes. If you leave those fields empty, the domain gets our default nameservers instead.

If your website or email is hosted anywhere other than with us, look up the domain's current nameservers before you order and enter those same values on the form. Otherwise DNS moves the moment the transfer lands, and the site and mail stop resolving where they used to.

If the domain is going to be hosted with us anyway, leaving the fields at our defaults is exactly what you want.

Starting the transfer

1. Go to Order → Domains.
2. Enter the domain and choose the transfer option rather than registration.
3. Paste the authorisation code when asked.
4. Set the nameservers as described above.
5. Check out. The transfer price for that specific TLD is shown before you confirm.

What a transfer costs, and what it gives you

Prices differ per top-level domain and are always shown at checkout, so check there rather than assuming.

For most domains, including .com, .net, .org and .xyz, a transfer also adds a year to the registration. You are paying for that year, not for the act of moving.

.se and .nu work differently. Internetstiftelsen, the Swedish registry, does not charge for a transfer, so it is free. In exchange it does not extend the registration either: the expiry date stays exactly where it was, and you renew as normal when it comes round.

What happens next

We submit the request to our EU-based registrar partner. From there:

• Your current registrar may email you asking to approve the transfer. Approving it is by far the fastest route.
• If nobody responds, most domains complete on their own after about five days, depending on the registry.
• Some top-level domains need extra information or verification that cannot be handled automatically. If yours does, we will open a support ticket and confirm the details with you before continuing.

If it stalls or is rejected

Almost every failed transfer comes down to one of these:

• The domain is still locked at the current registrar.
• The authorisation code is wrong, or has expired and needs reissuing.
• The domain is inside the 60-day window after registration or a previous transfer.
• Registrant contact details are incomplete or do not match.
• The current registrar explicitly refused the request.

If you have checked all of those and it is still not moving, open a ticket with the domain name and we will chase it at the registry.

Once it completes

The domain appears as a service in My Melonslab, and from its page you can manage nameservers, DNSSEC, the transfer lock, the authorisation code and the WHOIS contacts yourself. Renewals join the same invoice as everything else.