Before you can transfer a domain IN to a new host or registrar, you have to prepare you domain to transfer OUT of your old host or registrar.

Here is an overview of what you need to know how to do at your old registrar:

1. Unlock the domain
2. Suspended privacy
3. Make sure the contact information is up to date and includes an email address that you have access to and can read the emails sent to you. 
4. If you are only changing domain registrars (not website hosts) you don’t need to do anything to nameservers. But just in case, write down your current nameservers.
5. Copy your EPP/Authorization code that you’ll need for your new registrar.
6. Eventually, you may need to  approve the transfer here at your old registrar.

For me, I originally bought my domain names through Bluehost, and even though it turns out they sold them to me via a third party, I could do all of my authorization from my Bluehost account. If you are at Bluehost, go over the directions for transferring your domain registration away from Bluehost.

You can find directions from some other hosts inside these directions on this Google Domains help page if you scroll down and click on > Transferring from other registrars.

Bluehost’s video is especially helpful, so be sure to look at all the help information you can find at your old domain registrar/host. Personally I don’t like video tutorials, but watch them anyway as I got some important explanation in the tutorials.

Note: If you are only moving your domain registrar and not moving your web site host, you won’t need to do anything to your nameservers, as might be mentioned in your current domain registrar’s directions for moving out. It’s mentioned in the Bluehost directions because usually people change domain registrars at the same time as they move to a new host. But it’s a good idea to have your domain registrar separate from your website host. We’re not moving to a new host; we’re not moving our web files or our whole website to a new computer. All we’re doing in this tutorial is changing who holds the registration for our domain.

Website tutorials for the Rest of Us

How to prepare a domain to transfer a domain away from a domain registrar

1. Read all your directions, watch any videos that are available. Bluehost’s directions for transferring a domain out are here.
2. Make sure you know how to:
   • Unlock the domain
   • Suspended privacy
   • Make sure the contact information is up to date and includes an email address that you have access to
   • If you are only changing domain registrars (not domain hosts) you don’t need to do anything to nameservers. But just in case, write down your current nameservers.
   • Copy your EPP/Authorization code that you’ll need for your new registrar.
   • Know how to approve the transfer here at your old registrar.
3. Call support about anything you don’t understand.
4. If you completely understand the process at both your old registrar for transferring a domain name OUT and at your new registrar for transferring your domain IN, you are now ready to to get your domains ready to transfer. Following your old host or registrar’s instructions, now
   • Unlock the domain
   • Suspended privacy (This means all your contact information, even if you paid WHOIS to keep it private, will now be public. Be sure you are ready to start the process before you do this to minimize the time your information is public.)
   • Make sure the contact information is up to date and includes an email address that you have access to
   • If you are only changing domain registrars (not domain hosts) you don’t need to do anything to nameservers. But just in case, write down your current nameservers.
   • Copy your EPP/Authorization code that you’ll need for your new registrar.
   • If you have things set up at your new registrar, you may or may not have an option to approve the transfer right now.
     • On BlueHost this was in the same area as my EPP/Authorization code after I set up the transfer at my new registrar [link]:
       1. >Domains
       2. > select the domain name of the domain I want to transfer
       3. >transfer EPP
       4. [>approve transfer now]*

        

Now, you need to go back to your new registrar and start the transfer process.

*In some registrars you can approve the transfer yourself. In fact, after waiting until close to the cancellation date for Bluehost to approve the transfer, I was searching around, called support, and finally found that I could approve the transfer myself! It may take a few minutes for this option to show up. If you can’t find this option, contact help before you wait around with nothing happening for several days. Read How to save days off of your domain registrar transfer at Bluehost for more information. If there is one things I learned in this process, it is call support early and often!

Note: I’m not sure, but in my experience, the domain I (accidentally) waited several days to approve for transfer propagated with no glitches. However, in the second set I was able to approve the transfer after just 30 minutes of initiating the process. Everything seemed fine, but the next day, when I tried to go to the websites I got the error www.highschoolcollegesuccess.com’s server DNS address could not be found. AAck!

I contacted Google Domains support. It turns out this may have been that pesky “might take 24-48 hours to propagate problem,” but at some point during this process also needed had re-enter my custom resource records, more than once. Google Domains help walked me through this step by step for both of my domains. This came under the heading of “done right, shouldn’t have gone wrong.” That is why if you depend on your blog for income, I suggest you hire a developer to do this for you.