Insights / Buying

How buying a premium domain works: escrow, transfer and the 60-day rule

TheDomainery · 29 October 2026 · 4 min read

A domain sale ends with the name sitting in your account at your registrar, and the steps in between are simpler than most people expect. You make an enquiry, you and the owner agree a price, the money goes into escrow, the domain moves, and then the money is released. On this site, payment goes through an escrow-backed process, and prices are agreed on enquiry.

Escrow just means a neutral third party holds the payment until you've received the domain. Neither side has to trust the other with their half first. We wouldn't buy a domain from a stranger any other way, even if the seller is charming, and we'd be suspicious of anyone who asks for a bank transfer up front.

To move a .com or similar between registrars you need an authorisation code, which ICANN calls an AuthInfo code. ICANN says the registrar creates it to identify the domain holder and to help prevent unauthorised transfers. Some registrars let you generate it yourself. If yours doesn't, ICANN says the registrar has to provide it within five calendar days of your request, so ask early.

Then the 60-day lock, which catches people out. ICANN's transfer policy lets a registrar refuse a transfer within 60 days of a domain's initial registration or of a previous transfer. A separate 60-day lock follows a change of registrant name, organisation or email. ICANN suggests finishing any transfer before you change contact details. For a buyer, the practical point is to choose the registrar you want to stay with before you buy, because moving again straight afterwards may be blocked.

One caveat. ICANN's policy covers generic domains such as .com. As far as we know, country-code domains like .ie and .co.uk follow their own registries' rules, so the timings and steps can differ. Ask about the specifics for the name you're buying.

If a transfer stalls, we'd look first at the authorisation code.