If a transfer fails for a reason you can fix, we hold your payment for 14 days so you can retry without paying again. Failures a retry can't fix are refunded right away.
How to retry
Transfers you can retry appear under Retry needed on Domain Transfers. The domain's own page offers the same choice and shows the reason the registry reported.
- Fix the problem at your current registrar (see below).
- Get a fresh authorization code. Many registrars change it after a failed transfer.
- Enter the code, at least 8 characters, and select Retry. On the domain page the button is Retry transfer.
The registry usually responds within an hour, and we email you when the retry is accepted or declined. If it fails again, the domain goes back to Retry needed with the same deadline.
Common fixes
- Authorization code was rejected: get a new code from your current registrar and retry with it.
- Domain locked at the losing registrar: remove the transfer lock there, then retry.
- Domain is not eligible for transfer yet: registries block transfers for 60 days after a registration or a previous transfer. If that ends after your deadline, cancel for a refund and transfer again later.
- Declined by the losing registrar: often a stale code, an active privacy lock, or an admin contact who didn't approve. Turn off WHOIS privacy there and confirm the admin contact approves.
The 14-day window
The window starts at the first failure. A retry that fails doesn't reset it.
We email reminders 7 days and 1 day before it closes. If you haven't retried by then, we refund you automatically and the domain stays where it is.
To stop early, select Cancel & Refund on Domain Transfers, or Cancel and refund on the domain page.
Failures we refund right away
A new code won't help in these cases, so we refund instead of holding your payment:
- Another OrbitFour account already manages the domain, or tried to transfer it first.
- The registry already has a transfer pending for the domain.
- We stopped offering the extension after you ordered.
- A problem on our side, such as a registry billing problem or a registry price above what you paid. Your payment method is fine, and you don't need to retry.
If the registry refuses the request the first time we send it, we also refund and email you the reason. Fix the problem, then start a new transfer at /domains/transfer.
See Refunds for how refunds reach you. If you're stuck, contact support and include the domain name.