Let’s say you’ve decided to sell your business or website online. In that case, you will need to transfer ownership of the domain to the new owner. Website owners whose domain is registered with Namecheap should have no problem completing this task. And you’ll find the process even easier with this step-by-step guide at hand.
How to transfer Namecheap domain ownership
Transferring (or boosting, as the company calls it) ownership of the Namecheap domain is quite simple. It’s free and can be completed whether the new owner already has a Namecheap account or not.
Before we delve into the steps, let’s establish the ground rules:
- You can transfer your domain at any time to your ownership. (You don’t have to wait even after completing another transfer.)
- You cannot transfer expired domains. (Renew the domain first.)
- You cannot transfer domains listed on Namecheap Marketplace. (Remove listing first.)
- You cannot transfer the domain to a person already designated as its administrator. (Remove them from the function first.)
Now that we have this out of the way, let’s get down to business.
How to transfer Namecheap domain ownership to an existing account
If the new domain owner already has a Namecheap account, they can proceed directly to transferring ownership of the domain.
- Login to Namecheap account who owns the domain you want to transfer.
- Go to the “Domain List” tab in the left sidebar.
- Locate the domain you want to transfer.
- Click the “Manage” button to the far right of the domain name.
- Go to the “Share and Transfer” tab at the top of the domain page.
- Scroll down to the “Change ownership” section.
- In the “New Owner” field, enter the new owner’s Namecheap username or the email address they use for their account.
- Click the “Change” button.
At this point, a Change Property window will appear. You will need to enter your Namecheap password to authorize the domain ownership change. Additionally, the pop-up window requires you to choose the contact information that the domain will include after the ownership change.
If you select the “Use the new owner’s contacts” option next to the “Registrant Contact” field, the new owner will need to verify their contact information. Still, it’s worth choosing this option, as using current contacts can only create confusion and unnecessary future verification difficulties.
Press the orange “Change” button at the bottom of the pop-up window and the property change will be made. Well, at least your part of this process. The rest is up to the new owner.
They will receive an email. One click on the “Approve ownership change” link and the transfer will be completed almost immediately. After all, transferring ownership of a domain does not affect DNS settings, which equates to no downtime.
Please note that the approval step is optional and serves as a security feature. If the new owner wants to bypass it, they can do so by enabling the auto-accept feature.
- Click the “Profile” tab in the left sidebar.
- Select the “Security” option.
- Navigate to the “Recovery and Alerts” section.
- Locate the “Incoming Invitations” option and click the “Edit” button next to it.
- Go to “Automatically accept invitations” and check the box next to it.
This option will also be useful if you are transferring the domain to another Namecheap account that you own.
In case you go the email confirmation route, the new domain owner must log in to their Namecheap account before clicking the email confirmation link.
Please note that not all domain-related services will be automatically moved to the new account. For services like private email, you’ll need to take a few extra steps. Similarly, any subscription to the app will remain in your account rather than transferring with the domain name.
Once the domain is fully transferred to the other account, the new domain owner assumes responsibility for all payments associated with the domain.
Also, remember that the change of ownership of a Namecheap domain is final. If you change your mind about making the deal, Namecheap will not be able to reverse this change. In this case, the only course of action is to contact the new owner and ask them to return the domain to you.
How to transfer ownership of Namecheap to a new account
Let’s say the new owner of the domain you want to transfer doesn’t have a Namecheap account. Can you still continue with the transfer?
You absolutely can! You just need to invite them to become the new domain owner via email. Here’s what you should do:
- Login to Namecheap account where the domain you want to transfer is located.
- Go to the “Domain List” tab in the left sidebar.
- Find the domain you want to transfer and click the “Manage” button next to it.
- Tap the “Share & Transfer” tab at the top of the page.
- Locate the “Change ownership” section.
- Type the email address of the domain’s new owner in the “New Owner” text field.
- Press the “Change” button.
A Change Property window will now appear. You must select the “Use current contacts” option under “Registrant Contact” as the new owner will not have any contact information in Namecheap. To complete the transfer process, enter your password in the appropriate field and click the “Change” button below.
If you have followed these steps carefully, you should see the following message: “The domain ownership change has been successfully initiated.”
And that’s all you need to do. The new domain owner should do it from here.
All they need to do is log into their email and click the “Approve ownership change” link. As soon as they do so, they will be redirected to the Namecheap home page.
From there, the new owner can create a Namecheap account. These are the steps to do it:
- Click “Register?” in the upper right corner of the “Sign in to your account” window.
- In the “Create an account” form, enter your username, password, and first and last name in the appropriate field.
- In the “Email Address” field, enter the email address that received the ownership change invitation.
- Click the “Create account and continue” button at the bottom.
Once the account is created, the Domain Push Invitation page will launch automatically. Here, the new owner can press the “OK” button to move forward in the domain ownership change process.
Interestingly, this is not the end. Instead, the new domain owner will be redirected to a new page where they will need to fill out the necessary fields. The “Primary Address” field is the most important of them. They will then need to return to the invitation email and click the link again.
Once again, you will be sent to the domain push invitation page. And once again, the new owner must confirm the change by pressing the “Accept” button.
This time, the change will be accepted and an “Action Successful” message will appear to complete the transaction.
From there, the new owner has full control over their old Namecheap domain.
A domain ownership change with just a few clicks
As you can see, transferring domain ownership on Namecheap requires little time and effort from both you and the new domain owner. The new owner doesn’t even have to be a Namecheap account holder and you can complete the domain ownership change with just a few clicks.
