Also called registrar lock · clientTransferProhibited · domain lock
Transfer lock, explained
The owner-controlled version is the EPP status clientTransferProhibited, usually shown as registrar lock and switched in your account; keep it on except while transferring. Under ICANN's current Transfer Policy, registrars may deny a transfer within 60 days of a name's creation or a previous transfer, and a change of registrant triggers a 60-day lock unless the registrar let the owner opt out beforehand. ICANN's Board adopted recommendations on June 7, 2026 to replace these with mandatory 30-day locks after registration and after a transfer and to drop the change-of-registrant lock; they are queued for implementation with no effective date, so the current rules apply until a revised policy takes effect.
For investors, locks shape deal timing. A buyer who wants a newly bought name at their own registrar may have to wait, which is one reason marketplace sales often complete by account push within the same registrar. Names under a UDRP complaint are locked for the case, and registry lock blocks changes at the registry level for high-value names. Country-code TLDs follow their own transfer rules.
Example. A buyer receives a name by account push at the seller's registrar and finds a 60-day lock applied after the change of registrant, so moving it to their own registrar has to wait.
Go deeper How to Sell a Domain Name: A Seller's Guide
Free to read, no signup. The list is for news of the course itself.
Join the waitlistSources
Education, not financial, legal or tax advice. Domain investing is speculative and most domain names never sell. Read the disclaimer.