Moving a domain away from GoDaddy

You can move a domain away from GoDaddy at any time once it is more than 60 days old: turn off Domain Lock, get the authorization code from the domain's settings, and start the transfer at the new registrar. Before that, though, check what else at GoDaddy depends on the domain, especially email. Many owners also find they do not need to transfer at all, because pointing the domain at a new website from inside GoDaddy does the job.

Transfer or just point it?

These are two different things, and people mix them up.

• Pointing keeps the domain registered at GoDaddy, and you keep paying GoDaddy for it each year. You change a couple of DNS settings so the domain opens your new website. It takes minutes. Our guide to pointing a GoDaddy domain at a new website covers it, and we keep a screen-by-screen page for connecting a GoDaddy domain.
• Transferring moves the registration to another company, so you stop paying GoDaddy for the domain. It takes about a week.

Owners usually transfer away from GoDaddy for one of three reasons: the renewal price has climbed well above what other registrars charge, the account has become a tangle of add-ons and upsells, or they want all their domains in one account with one bill. All fair. If none of those bother you, pointing is simpler.

Check what else at GoDaddy uses the domain

Open your GoDaddy account and go through the full product list, not only the domain. Look for:

• Email. GoDaddy sells Microsoft 365 mailboxes and its own Professional Email. These are separate subscriptions from the domain. Transferring the domain does not move or cancel them, but their DNS records currently live at GoDaddy and must be recreated wherever your DNS goes next. Microsoft 365 bought through GoDaddy is a particular case: the mailboxes stay tied to GoDaddy's account even after the domain leaves, and moving them to Microsoft directly is a separate project. Microsoft 365 email and your website domain explains the options.
• Website Builder or Websites + Marketing. If your current site is built there, it stays at GoDaddy and keeps billing until you cancel it.
• Web hosting (cPanel or WordPress hosting) and any SSL certificate you bought.
• Domain protection or privacy add-ons, which can renew separately.
• Email forwarding that GoDaddy offers with domains. It stops when the domain leaves.

Write the list down. Each line is either something to move, something to cancel later, or something to keep.

Save your DNS before anything moves

If your domain uses GoDaddy's nameservers, your DNS records are held by GoDaddy. Look up the domain on ICANN's lookup tool: names containing "domaincontrol.com" mean GoDaddy holds your DNS.

When a domain leaves GoDaddy, GoDaddy may stop answering for its records. If the new registrar does not have the same records ready, your website and email go quiet until someone rebuilds them. To avoid that:

1. In GoDaddy, open the domain's DNS page and screenshot every record, all pages of them.
2. At your new registrar, or at a separate DNS service, set up the same records before the transfer completes. Some registrars offer to copy them during the transfer; check the result line by line.
3. Once the records match, change the domain's nameservers at GoDaddy to the new company's, and wait a day before you start the transfer itself. That way DNS is already safely elsewhere when the domain moves.

The steps inside GoDaddy

GoDaddy rearranges its screens from time to time, so the wording may differ slightly. Sign in, open Domain Portfolio, and click the domain to open its settings.

1. Check the contact details. The registrant email must be one you can read today. If you change the name or email, GoDaddy may offer a 60-day transfer lock; decline it if you intend to move soon. Accepting it blocks the transfer for two months.
2. Turn off Domain Lock. It is a switch on the domain's settings page.
3. Find the transfer option. Look for wording like "Transfer to another registrar" or "Transfer domain away from GoDaddy", usually near the bottom of the settings. GoDaddy then shows or emails the authorization code.
4. Watch for extra checks. If you bought a domain protection plan, GoDaddy may ask you to verify your identity before releasing the code. Allow a day for it.

Then go to the new registrar, choose "Transfer", enter the domain and the code, and pay. GoDaddy usually sends an email about the pending transfer. Approving it in that email can make the move quicker; otherwise it completes by itself after several days. The general process and its timing are covered in how to transfer a domain to another registrar.

Snags owners commonly hit

• "Your domain is not eligible." Usually the domain was registered or transferred in the last 60 days, or its contact details changed recently with the lock accepted.
• The code email never arrives. It went to an old registrant email. Update the contact email, decline the lock and request the code again.
• Retention offers. GoDaddy may offer a discount to stay. Weigh it honestly; a renewal discount for one year is not the same as a lower price every year.
• Email stopped after the move. The MX records were not recreated at the new DNS. Restore them from your screenshots.
• Two bills. You transferred the domain but the old email, builder or privacy add-on is still renewing at GoDaddy. Go back through your list.

After the transfer lands

• Confirm the domain is in your new account with the right expiry date.
• Turn the transfer lock back on at the new registrar, and switch on auto-renew.
• Test the website and send a test email both ways.
• Back at GoDaddy, cancel the products you no longer need, one by one, from your list. Leave email running until its replacement works.

What to do this week

• List every GoDaddy product connected to the domain.
• Screenshot the DNS records.
• Decide: point the domain, or transfer it.
• If transferring, move DNS first, then the domain, early in the week.

If what you really want is a better website than the one at GoDaddy, you can see your site rebuilt first and decide on the domain once the new site is ready.