Moving a .uk domain to a new provider works nothing like moving a .com, and people who have done one are often confused by the other. There is no authorisation code, there is normally no fee, and it does not add a year to your registration. Instead the whole thing turns on a single setting called the IPS tag. This article explains what that is and the order to do things in.
Every .uk domain is recorded in Nominet’s register, and part of that record is a short tag identifying which registrar is responsible for the domain. That is the IPS tag. Changing it is what a .uk transfer consists of: the domain does not move anywhere, the tag on it changes, and the new registrar can then manage it.
Only the current registrar can change the tag, at the request of the registrant. This is the part that surprises people who expect the receiving provider to pull the domain across. For .uk it works the other way round: you push it.
The .uk process compares well with the generic one. There is no authorisation code to obtain and pass on, no waiting period during which the transfer can silently fail, and no charge, so you are not paying to leave. The change of tag takes effect quickly, often within minutes.
It also does not touch your registration period. A .com transfer typically costs a year’s registration and adds a year to the expiry date. A .uk tag change does neither: your renewal date stays exactly where it was. If your domain is due for renewal soon, deal with the renewal separately and do not assume the transfer has covered it.
This is where most avoidable downtime comes from. If you are moving your website and email as well as the domain, the sequence matters.
Changing the tag does not automatically change your nameservers, and we do not change them for you unless you specifically ask us to in a ticket. That is deliberate: a domain arriving with its nameservers silently repointed is how a working website goes offline during what was supposed to be an administrative change. It does mean the responsibility for pointing the domain at the right place is yours, so if the site is still showing the old host after a transfer, the nameservers are the first thing to check.
Ask your current registrar to change the IPS tag to the new provider’s tag. Most offer this in their control panel, sometimes labelled “change tag” or “transfer away”; others require a support request. If they are being slow or obstructive, Nominet can change the tag directly at the registrant’s request, which is a useful thing to know exists.
Two things to have in order first. The registrant details on the domain must be accurate, because Nominet ties the ability to authorise changes to the registered holder. And you should be able to receive email at the address on the domain record, since that is where confirmations go. An out of date contact address on a domain is a problem that only ever reveals itself at the worst moment.
Non-.uk domains follow the generic process, which is genuinely different:
Check the domain is unlocked before you start, and check it is not within sixty days of registration or of a previous transfer, as that generally blocks a transfer outright.
Regardless of whether you are moving anything, log in to wherever your domains are registered and confirm the contact email address is one you can actually read. Domain renewal notices and transfer approvals go to that address, and a domain lost because nobody saw the renewal notice is a genuinely painful and entirely avoidable way to lose a business.
If you would like to move a domain to us, our knowledgebase has the specific steps and our tag, and you are welcome to open a ticket if anything is unclear.