The 60-Day Transfer Lock: Why Domain Sales Get Delayed

The 60-day transfer lock is a hold that a registrar places on a domain after the registrant details change, and it blocks the name from moving to a different registrar for 60 days. It comes from ICANN’s Transfer Policy, and it bites domain sellers because the natural handover order (change the owner, then send the code) is the one that triggers it. The fix costs nothing: transfer the name to the buyer’s registrar first, then change the registrant, or sell the name inside an account at one registrar so no transfer is needed at all. I have handed over a lot of names in twenty years, and this rule has delayed more of those handovers than any payment problem ever did.

The frustrating part is that nothing looks wrong until it is too late. The buyer has paid, you have done what you were asked, and then their registrar says the domain cannot be moved. Here is what the lock is, what triggers it, how to run the handover so it never fires, and what to say to a buyer who is already panicking.

What is the 60-day transfer lock, and what triggers it?

Two different 60-day rules sit in the same policy, and sellers tend to blur them. Keeping them apart is half the battle.

• The change of registrant lock. When the registrant’s name, organization or email changes materially, the registrar must impose a 60-day inter-registrar transfer lock afterwards, unless it offered an opt-out and the prior registrant opted out before the change was made. This is the one a sale triggers.
• The new registration and recent transfer refusal. A registrar may refuse a transfer requested within 60 days of the domain’s creation date, and within 60 days after an earlier inter-registrar transfer. This is a refusal the registrar is allowed to apply, not a lock a sale causes.

Both are written into ICANN’s Transfer Policy, which every accredited registrar follows. The change of registrant rules arrived with the policy update that took effect on 1 December 2016, and DomainInvesting.com’s report on the change called out the exact problem for resellers: re-selling a recently acquired name suddenly meant the next buyer could be locked out of moving it.

What does ICANN say to do about it?

This is the part most seller guides skip. The policy does not just create the lock. It also tells registrars how to warn you. When a change of registrant request comes in, the registrar must inform the prior registrant that if the final goal is to move the domain to a different registrar, they are advised to request the inter-registrar transfer before the change of registrant, to avoid triggering the 60-day lock. The only exception is a registrar that gave the prior registrant an opt-out, where the prior registrant used it.

So the rule that causes the delay also contains its own workaround. The order of operations is the whole fix.

Which handover order triggers the lock, and which does not?

Here are the same sale handled two ways. The buyer uses a different registrar from yours in both.

The sequence that triggers the lock

The sequence that does not

The difference is a single swap. In the good order the registrant details change last, inside the buyer’s own account, so by the time a lock could apply the name is already at the registrar the buyer wanted. A lock after that is harmless, because the buyer is not trying to leave.

The one cost is trust. In the good order you send the code before the buyer’s name is on the registration, which is exactly why you do it with funds held in escrow. If you have not used an escrow service before, read how domain escrow sequences the money and the name first. Escrow is what makes the safe order also the safe-for-you order.

Why does an in-account sale sidestep all of it?

If the buyer holds an account at the same registrar as you, the name does not need an inter-registrar transfer. It moves from one account to another at the same company, usually as a push. Registrars vary in how they treat the registrant details on a push, and some apply their own hold, so check the registrar’s help page before you promise a buyer instant control. But the 60-day lock exists to stop movement between registrars, and an in-account sale involves none. That is a quiet advantage of selling where the name already lives, and one reason the venue you choose to sell on matters for more than commission.

What do you tell a buyer who is already locked out?

You are past the point of avoiding it, so the job is calm and accurate communication. In my experience three things matter.

• Tell them it is a policy rule, not a scam. A buyer who sees a refused transfer assumes the seller did something wrong. Point them to the registrar’s own explanation and the ICANN policy.
• Ask whether the registrar offers an early removal. Some registrars let the registrant remove the lock on request, and the policy text refers to a method for the transfer contact to do so. It is worth one support ticket before anyone waits two months.
• Keep the name usable meanwhile. A locked domain can still resolve, host a site and send email. Buyers who need to launch can change the nameservers or DNS at your registrar while the lock runs. Offer to do it, or to hand over access, if the buyer needs it.

If the sale was in escrow, tell the escrow service about the delay rather than letting it look like a stall. Most services allow the inspection or transfer window to be extended by agreement.

Does this connect to the rest of a domain’s lifecycle?

Yes, in one place buyers trip over. A domain that has just been won at an auction or caught from the drop is often brand new in your account, which means a creation-date refusal or a recent-transfer refusal can apply too. If you flip fast, you can hit a lock on the way in and another on the way out. The expiration lifecycle explains why different names arrive in your account with different histories, which is worth checking before you promise a quick handover. And if you are flipping at volume, the flip loop should include a line for how long each name will be unmovable.

Is the 60-day lock going away?

Possibly. The Transfer Policy Review working group recommended replacing the change of registrant process, and the GNSO Council approved the recommendations in 2025. Trade reporting at the time, such as Domain Incite’s coverage of the 60-day lock, described the lock as on its way out. As of October 2026 I could not confirm a date on which it stops applying, and the policy text registrars follow today still contains it. Until your registrar says otherwise in writing, hand over in the safe order.

A quick pre-handover checklist

• Is the name more than 60 days old, and more than 60 days since its last transfer?
• Which registrar does the buyer use, and is it the same as yours?
• Is the money in escrow before you send the authorization code?
• Does your registrar offer an opt-out from the lock, and is it available before the change?
• Have you told the buyer the order you intend to use, and why?

If the answer to the first question is no, you already know the handover will not be instant. Say so before the sale closes. And since lock risk is a cost of resale, it pays to know it before you buy: a name you cannot move quickly is a name you cannot flip quickly. That is part of why PounceDomains scores every ending-soon match against your own configs before it alerts you, so the names you chase fit the way you actually sell. You can start free and see what your configs surface.