Also called EPP code · transfer code · authorization code · AuthInfo code · TAC
Auth code, explained
For most gTLDs the sequence is the same. The owner removes the transfer lock and requests the code at the current registrar, then enters it at the new registrar, which submits the transfer to the registry. Under the current ICANN Transfer Policy, the registrar must provide the code within five calendar days of the owner's request. Once the transfer is requested, the losing registrar has five calendar days to reject it for a permitted reason before it completes, and a completed gTLD transfer typically adds one year to the registration.
Some transfers are blocked regardless of the code. Registrars typically refuse transfers within 60 days of a name's creation or of a previous transfer, and must apply a 60-day transfer lock after a change of registrant unless the owner opted out. Names under a dispute lock, in redemption or with a registry transfer prohibition cannot move. Country-code extensions set their own procedures, and some use a different mechanism altogether.
Treat the code like a password. Anyone holding a valid code for a name without a transfer lock can start a transfer, so release it only after payment is secured through escrow or a marketplace's own process, send it only to the buyer, and keep it out of shared chats and documents. If a code may have been exposed, ask the registrar to generate a new one. When buyer and seller use the same registrar, an account-to-account push avoids the code entirely and is often faster.
ICANN's Board adopted Transfer Policy Review recommendations on June 7, 2026: renaming the code the Transfer Authorization Code, or TAC, making it single-use with a 14-day lifespan, replacing the 60-day post-registration and post-transfer restrictions with mandatory 30-day locks, and dropping the lock after a change of registrant. They are queued for implementation with no effective date, so the current rules still apply; check your registrar's current rules before promising a buyer a timeline.
Example. After the buyer's payment clears in escrow, the seller requests the auth code from the registrar and sends it to the buyer, who enters it at their own registrar to start the transfer.
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- ICANN — Transfer Policy (version updated Feb 21, 2024)
- Domain Incite — ICANN to kill off 60-day domain transfer lock (Mar 13, 2025)
- Registrar Stakeholder Group — Transfer Authorization Code explainer (August 2025)
- ICANN GNSO — Transfer Policy Review PDP status page (accessed Oct 1, 2026)
- ICANN Board — Approved Resolutions, Regular Meeting, June 7, 2026 (resolution 2026.06.07.04, Transfer Policy recommendations)
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