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.
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Education, not financial, legal or tax advice. Domain investing is speculative and most domain names never sell. Read the disclaimer.
