Do you own a domain name with another provider, such as GoDaddy or 1&1? Follow the steps in this guide to transfer the domain so that you can manage both your site and domain registration from your WordPress.com account.
In this guide
- Before You Get Started
- Step 1: Verify Your Domain is Eligible for Transfer
- Step 2: Unlock Your Domain and Obtain Your Auth Code
- Step 3: Start the Transfer at WordPress.com
- Step 4: Check Your Transfer Status
- Step 5: Change the DNS Records
- Step 6: Set Your Primary Address
- Cancel a Transfer
- FAQ and Troubleshooting
Domain transfers can take anywhere from five to seven days to complete. If you would like your domain to start working right away, connect your domain first, then initiate the transfer.
Never cancel your domain during a domain transfer. Your current provider will automatically remove the domain from their system once the transfer is completed.
Your domain must meet the following criteria to be able to transfer it to WordPress.com. You can transfer a domain if it is:
- More than 60 days old.
- Has not been transferred within the past 60 days.
- On our list of TLDs that support incoming transfers (all major extensions supported, including .com, .net, and .org.)
- Not already renewed to the maximum possible term (ten years for most domains, though shorter for some country-code domain extensions.)
- If your domain has fewer than 12 months remaining until the maximum term allowed, it will be renewed to the maximum term only. For example, if the maximum term is 10 years and your domain has 9 years and 6 months until expiration, the transfer will add 6 months to the domain instead of the usual 12 months.
If your domain is not yet eligible, you can connect it to your WordPress.com website now and transfer it when it becomes eligible.
Log in to your account with your domain provider (where the domain is currently registered) and take the following actions:
- Unlock your domain: Domain providers lock a domain as a security measure to prevent unauthorized changes like transfers. This is typically referred to as a registrar lock or transfer lock.
- Obtain a transfer code: This code is commonly known as an EPP code, but your domain provider might also refer to it as a transfer code, authorization key, or auth code.
If you don’t know where your domain is registered, look it up in the Site Profiler.
Your domain provider’s domain management interface should allow you to remove the lock and obtain your code. Some domain providers require you to contact them via their customer support service to make this request.
We’ve listed instructions from popular domain providers below. Some registrars may have additional steps to be completed on their end before a domain can be transferred.
Instructions for common domain providers (click to reveal)
Once you have unlocked your domain and obtained your transfer code, you can initiate the transfer in your WordPress.com account.
Follow the steps below to transfer a single domain. If you own several domains with other providers, click here to use our bulk domain transfer tool to enter multiple authorization codes and transfer all your domains in one go.
- Starting from your WordPress.com dashboard, navigate to Upgrades → Domains.
- In the top right corner, click the + Add a domain button.
- Select “Use a domain I own“:
- On the next screen, type the domain name you wish to transfer and click Next.
- You will have two options: transfer or connect. Click the Select button next to Transfer your domain:
- The next page will ask you to confirm that you want to begin the domain transfer. To proceed, click the “Start setup” button.
- Log into your domain provider account and locate your domain’s settings page. Once you’ve done this, click the “I found the domain’s settings page” button.
- The next page will check that your domain is unlocked. If your domain is still locked, please make sure to unlock it with your current provider and give it some time for the changes to take effect. Click the “I’ve unlocked my domain” button when ready:
- Enter the authorization code you’ve received from your current provider. The code is case-sensitive, so take care to copy and paste rather than type the code manually. Make sure no additional spaces are being added.
- Click the “Check readiness for transfer” button.
- When the authorization code is confirmed, click the Continue button.
- The last step before checkout is to confirm your contact details. We will pre-fill the form if you’ve previously bought a domain or plan from us. You can also enable private registration if it’s available for your domain. If all your details are correct, click “Continue to Checkout“.
- Complete the checkout screen. If you are entitled to a free domain, you will not be charged.
- On the next screen, you will see a confirmation message. Your domain transfer is now in progress and should complete in five to seven days.
- In some cases, you may be able to speed up the transfer process. Contact your domain provider directly to request your domain transfer be expedited.
When the transfer to WordPress.com is completed, your domain’s expiry date will be extended by an additional year. If you just renewed the domain with your current provider, you will not lose that renewal.
To check the status of your domain transfer, visit your WordPress.com dashboard and navigate to Upgrades → Domains. Each of your domains will be listed here, with one of the following in the Status column:
- Waiting: You added a domain transfer but have not begun the transfer process. If you don’t start the transfer within 14 days, the transfer will be removed from your account, and your payment refunded or your plan domain credit restored.
- In Progress: You have submitted the authorization code and paid for the transfer. You cannot change any domain settings during this time. The transfer will complete within five to seven days.
- Active: The transfer is finished, and you can make any changes to your domain.
- Failed: The transfer cannot be completed. If the failed transfer isn’t restarted within 14 days of the original purchase, it will automatically be removed from your account and your payment refunded or your plan domain credit restored.
You will also receive an email when the transfer completes or fails.
If your domain transfer could not be completed, it is likely for one of the following reasons:
- You added a transfer while signing up for a new site but did not complete the steps to start the transfer within 14 days.
- The domain is still locked. Please ensure you’ve unlocked the domain for transfer at your current provider.
- The domain expired, entered redemption, or was canceled after initiating the transfer. Please contact your current provider to help you reactivate the domain and restart the transfer process.
- The transfer was canceled on your current provider’s end. Please consult with your provider and restart the transfer process.
- In rare cases, the current provider may dispute a transfer which will cause it to be canceled.
After a successful transfer, you can set the name servers to display your WordPress.com site if they are not already. Take the following steps to ensure the domain displays your website hosted on WordPress.com:
- Starting from your WordPress.com dashboard, navigate to Upgrades → Domains.
- Click on your domain name.
- Select Name servers.
- On the next screen, toggle on the option to Use WordPress.com name servers:
While your DNS records may be imported to WordPress.com during the transfer, it’s important to review your DNS records to ensure all necessary records are present on the domain on WordPress.com. If you have an email address for your domain with another provider, you may need to add the required DNS records for your email account if they did not come through with the transfer.
Your site’s primary address is the domain visitors see in their browser’s address bar when visiting your site. To choose your site’s primary domain, follow these steps:
- Starting from your dashboard, navigate to Upgrades → Domains.
- Click the ellipses (three dots) next to the domain you want to make primary and select Make primary site address:
If you change your mind and don’t want to transfer the domain after all, you can cancel it directly with your current provider’s domain management settings.
When you cancel the transfer at your current provider, the domain transfer subscription will automatically be canceled and refunded on WordPress.com. If you used the free domain in your plan, canceling this will also restore the free domain credit so you can use it for a different domain.
What does it cost to transfer a domain?
All annual WordPress.com plans include a free domain for one year which you can use to transfer your domain for free.
If your plan does not include a free domain (i.e., you have a monthly plan), the transfer cost is equal to the standard renewal cost for the domain.
You can add as many additional domains to the same site as you like and pay for the additional transfers separately.
What about my pages, posts, and other content?
A domain transfer does not transfer a site’s content (pages, posts, media, etc.) If you wish to transfer your hosting to WordPress.com, start by importing your existing site’s content first, then transfer the domain after.
