Transferring a domain sounds riskier than it is. The .nz registry handles transfers quickly and cheaply, and the process itself almost never breaks anything.
What breaks things is the part around it — losing your DNS records, being told you have to pay for a renewal you don’t, or discovering the authorisation code you saved three months ago no longer works.
This guide covers the mechanics accurately, including the specific .nz rules that differ from the generic advice written for .com domains.
First: what a transfer actually moves
This trips up more people than any technical step.
A domain transfer changes who manages and bills you for the domain. That’s it. It moves the registrar of record and which control panel you log into.
It does not move your website. Your files stay on your hosting server.
It does not move your email. Your mailboxes stay with Google Workspace, Microsoft 365 or whoever hosts them.
It does not change where your domain points — unless you change the nameservers or DNS records, which is a separate action you may or may not want to take at the same time.
If your goal is actually to move your website to a different host, that’s a hosting migration, and the domain transfer is optional. You can point an existing domain at new hosting without changing registrar at all.
What a .nz transfer costs
Here’s the correction that matters most, because it’s the one that gets people billed unnecessarily.
The registry charges nothing for a .nz transfer. InternetNZ’s own registry documentation states there is no charge for the transfer of a .nz domain name.
A .nz transfer does not include a mandatory one-year renewal. This is the big difference from generic domains. With .com and other gTLDs, transferring typically forces a 12-month renewal onto your term and you pay for it. With .nz, a domain transferred before expiry keeps its existing expiry date and there’s no transfer fee.
Your old provider cannot charge you to leave. The Domain Name Commission is explicit that your current provider must let you transfer free of charge and is not permitted to charge you to generate an authorisation code or to levy an exit fee.
What a .nz transfer actually costs
Different from .com in the ways that matter most.
| Item | .nz | Generic domains (.com etc) |
|---|---|---|
| Registry transfer fee | None | Varies |
| Forced 1-year renewal | No — expiry date unchanged if transferred before expiry | Usually yes, and you pay for it |
| Fee for the auth code | Not permitted | Varies by registrar |
| Exit fee | Not permitted | Varies by registrar |
| If transferred after expiry | Auto-renews 1 year; receiving registrar billed | Varies |
Individual registrars may still require a renewal if the domain expires within their own window — a commercial policy, not a registry rule. Ask before you start.
Two exceptions are worth knowing. If the domain has already passed its expiry date and is transferred during the grace or redemption period, it will auto-renew for a year on completion and the receiving registrar is billed for it. And some registrars apply their own policy of requiring a renewal if the domain expires within a set window. That’s a registrar’s commercial policy, not a registry rule, and it’s worth asking about before you start.
The authorisation code: what it is and how it behaves
The authorisation code — long known as the UDAI, or Unique Domain Authentication Identifier — proves you’re entitled to move the domain. Some registrars now just call it an auth code.
Format. Sixteen characters, made up of lowercase letters, uppercase letters, numerals and hyphens. It’s case-sensitive, so copy and paste rather than retyping.
Expiry. Codes expire 30 days after creation or reset. Generate one when you’re ready to move, not months ahead.
Codes issued before November 2022 are dead. When InternetNZ migrated to its current registry platform, the old UDAI format was discontinued and existing values weren’t migrated. If you have one filed away from before then, it won’t work.
It’s single-use. Once a domain transfers, the code used is invalidated and the registry generates a new random one.
Your registrar has to give it to you. Under the .nz operations and procedures, registrars must pass the code to the holder whenever a new one is generated, and must provide it on request. If a registrar fails to, the Domain Name Commission may provide it instead — so an uncooperative provider isn’t a dead end.
When a .nz transfer gets blocked
Most guides on this topic are written for .com and tell you to switch off a “registrar lock” in your old control panel before transferring. For .nz that’s generally not the situation you’re in — the .nz registry doesn’t even support the client-side transfer-lock status that gTLDs use.
The sequence, in order
- Export your DNS zone. A, MX, TXT and CNAME records. Screenshot or export the lot before touching anything.
- Check the registrant email is one you can access. Verification links go there.
- Decide: transfer only, or transfer plus DNS change? Doing them separately is lower risk.
- If moving DNS, lower your TTL to 300 seconds a day or two beforehand.
- Generate a fresh auth code in your current registrar’s panel. Copy, don’t retype.
- Open the account at your new registrar and enter the domain plus the code.
- Verify: load the site, send and receive a test email, check the HTTPS padlock.
- Turn on 2FA, update registrant details, raise the TTL again.
Remember: “propagation” isn’t data spreading across the internet. It’s cached DNS records expiring. Lower the TTL first and the wait mostly disappears.
The 60-day registration and transfer lock that applies to generic domains does not apply to .nz. What does apply:
The five-day registration grace period. A newly registered .nz domain can’t be transferred for its first five days. A holder may transfer at any time other than during that window.
The auto-renew period. Some registrars won’t process a transfer while a domain sits in the 45-day auto-renew grace period after expiry.
A compliance lock. The registry or regulator can lock a domain, in which case it can’t be transferred, cancelled or modified at all. This isn’t something you toggle in a panel — it’s applied by the registry, and you’d need to contact them about it.
An invalid or expired code. By far the most common cause. A case error, a typo, or a code past its 30 days.
One more thing that surprises people: auto-renew cannot be disabled on .nz domains. All domains auto-renew shortly after expiry unless explicitly cancelled or renewed beforehand. If you want a domain to lapse, you have to actively cancel it rather than simply not paying.
Avoiding downtime: the DNS part
The transfer itself is near-instant. The downtime risk is entirely about DNS records, and it’s avoidable.
Export everything first. Before you touch the transfer, document your A records (where the website lives), MX records (where email goes), TXT records (SPF, DKIM, domain verification) and any CNAMEs. Screenshot or export the whole zone.
Decide whether you’re changing nameservers at all. If you keep the same nameservers pointing at the same hosting throughout, nothing about your site or email changes during the transfer. That’s the lowest-risk path: transfer first, change DNS later, as two separate operations rather than one.
If you are moving DNS, lower your TTL first. TTL — time to live — is how long other servers cache your DNS records. This is what “propagation” actually is: nothing is spreading anywhere, cached records are simply expiring. Drop your TTL to 300 seconds a day or two before the change, make the change, then raise it again once everything resolves correctly. A record cached at 24 hours will keep sending visitors to the old address for a day; the same record at five minutes won’t.
Why a .nz transfer fails
The generic “unlock your domain first” advice mostly doesn’t apply here.
| Cause | Fix |
|---|---|
| Expired auth code | Codes expire 30 days after creation. Generate a fresh one. |
| Code from before Nov 2022 | Old-format UDAIs weren’t migrated and are invalid. Request a new one. |
| Case or typing error | 16 characters, case-sensitive. Copy and paste, never retype. |
| Domain under five days old | Registration grace period. Wait it out. |
| In the 45-day auto-renew period | Some registrars won’t process a transfer here. Ask the receiving registrar. |
| Compliance lock | Applied by the registry or regulator. Not something you can switch off — contact them. |
If the domain has already expired
The .nz timeline here is longer and more forgiving than most guides suggest.
After expiry a domain sits in a 45-day auto-renew grace period, then a 90-day redemption period during which it stops resolving — website and email go dark — but the holder can still reinstate it.
A domain can be transferred while it’s in redemption. If it’s past its expiry date, it auto-renews for one year on completion of the transfer and the receiving registrar is billed for that year. So an unhelpful current provider isn’t a reason to lose the name; you can move it and reinstate it elsewhere.
Only after redemption does the domain enter pending delete and then become available to anyone.
After the transfer
Do these in the first ten minutes, while you’re already logged in.
Turn on two-factor authentication. Domain hijacking almost always happens through a compromised registrar login, not through the registry.
Check your registrant details. This is the natural moment to make sure the legal entity holding the domain is correct, with your NZBN where relevant, and to remove a former developer or agency from the contacts.
Set the account contact email to an address that isn’t on this domain. If renewal notices go to an inbox on the domain that just expired, you won’t receive them.
Consider DNSSEC. It cryptographically signs your DNS records so responses can be validated, which protects against certain classes of DNS spoofing. .nz supports it.
Verify everything resolves. Load the site, send and receive a test email, and check the HTTPS padlock before you consider the job done.
If you’re transferring because you’re also changing hosting, our guides to choosing web hosting in New Zealand and registering a .nz domain cover the rest of that groundwork.
This article is provided for factual and informational purposes only. It does not constitute legal, professional or purchasing advice, and it is not a recommendation to use any particular registrar. Registry rules, fees and registrar policies change, and individual registrars apply their own terms on top of the .nz Rules — confirm current requirements with your provider, with InternetNZ and with the Domain Name Commission before acting.
Reference sources
- InternetNZ — Registry concepts: grace periods and domain lifecycle
- InternetNZ — Registry FAQ: auth codes, auto-renew and redemption transfers
- InternetNZ — Billing: no transfer charge, auto-renew behaviour
- InternetNZ — .nz specific EPP rules (transfer statuses, 5-day grace)
- InternetNZ — .nz Rules (Renewal and Auto-Renew Grace Periods)
- Domain Name Commission — Transfer my domain name
- Domain Name Commission — Get an authorisation code (UDAI)
- Domain Name Commission — Domain prices, UDAI and exit fees
- Domain Name Commission — Domains in the redemption period
- OpenSRS — .nz domain policies: transfer terms and auth-code format
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to transfer a .nz domain?
The registry charges nothing for a .nz transfer, and unlike generic domains a .nz transfer doesn’t include a mandatory one-year renewal — a domain transferred before expiry keeps its existing expiry date. Your old provider is also not permitted to charge you for the authorisation code or an exit fee. Some registrars apply their own policy of requiring a renewal if the domain expires soon, so ask first.
What is an authorisation code and how do I get one?
It’s the 16-character code that permits the transfer, historically called the UDAI. Generate it in your current registrar’s control panel; they’re required to provide it on request and cannot charge you for it. Codes expire 30 days after creation, they’re case-sensitive, and any code issued before November 2022 is no longer valid.
Will my website and email go down during the transfer?
Not if you keep your nameservers pointing at the same hosting throughout. A transfer changes who manages the domain, not where it points. Downtime happens when DNS records get lost or changed, which is why you export them first and treat the transfer and any DNS change as two separate steps.
Do I need to unlock my domain before transferring?
Usually not for .nz. The 60-day transfer lock that applies to generic domains doesn’t apply here, and the registry doesn’t support the client-side lock gTLDs use. What can block a transfer is the five-day registration grace period on a brand-new domain, an expired or mistyped authorisation code, or a compliance lock applied by the registry — which you can’t switch off yourself.
Can I transfer a domain that has already expired?
Yes. A .nz domain can be transferred while it’s in the redemption period. If it’s past its expiry date, it will auto-renew for a year on completion and the receiving registrar is billed for that. This means an unresponsive current provider doesn’t have to cost you the name.
Does transferring the domain move my website too?
No. Your website files stay on your hosting server and your mailboxes stay with your email provider. Moving your site is a separate hosting migration. You can also do the opposite — point an existing domain at new hosting without changing registrar at all.
What if my current provider won’t give me the code?
Registrars are required to pass the authorisation code to the holder on request, and cannot charge for it. If yours refuses or ignores you, the Domain Name Commission may provide the code and is the right place to raise a complaint.