How to Transfer a Domain from Alibaba Cloud to Static.app

To transfer a domain from Alibaba Cloud to Static.app, turn off the domain's transfer lock, then request the transfer key from the Domain Transfer-Out page. Alibaba Cloud emails the key to the registrant email, and it is valid for 15 days. Start the transfer at Static.app with that key, and Alibaba Cloud releases the domain on its own within 5 to 7 days. The one thing to do first is sort out the domain's DNS, because Alibaba Cloud asks you to move it before the transfer starts.

Before you start

• Check the dates. The domain must have been registered with or transferred to Alibaba Cloud more than 60 days ago. A change to the registrant information also locks the domain for 60 days, unless you select the Disable "Domain names cannot be transferred out of Alibaba Cloud within 60 days of successful modification" option when you submit the change.
• Check recent renewals. If the domain was renewed or redeemed in the last 45 days, wait until more than 45 days have passed. Alibaba Cloud warns that transferring sooner may lose the renewal period and the fee you paid for it.
• Check the registrant email. The transfer key and every notice go to the registrant email address, not to your Alibaba Cloud login. Check it on the domain's basic information page and make sure it is correct and verified. If you change it, remember the 60-day option above.
• Check the domain's status. The domain cannot move while it shows serverTransferProhibited or clientHold, or while it is part of a dispute or court order. Those have to be resolved with Alibaba Cloud first.
• Sort out the DNS. Alibaba Cloud's own advice is to point the domain's DNS servers at the new provider and set up the records there before you start, to avoid resolution failures. If you leave the DNS where it is, Alibaba Cloud does not say whether it keeps answering once the domain has left, so plan as if it will not, and write down every record, especially the MX and TXT records your email depends on.

Step 1: Turn off the transfer lock at Alibaba Cloud

1. Sign in to the Alibaba Cloud domain names console and open the Domain List.
2. Choose Manage beside the domain.
3. On the Domain Security page, make sure the transfer lock is disabled.

Step 2: Request the transfer key

1. On the Domain Names page, find the domain and choose Manage in the Actions column.
2. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Domain Transfer-Out.
3. Follow the steps on screen to confirm the registrant email address and complete the email verification. If the address is wrong, choose Change Email.
4. Choose Next.

Alibaba Cloud emails the transfer key to the registrant email address. It is valid for 15 days, so start the transfer at Static.app soon. If the email does not arrive, check the spam folder, then choose Get Transfer Key Again. The console handles one domain at a time: for several domains, repeat these steps for each.

Step 3: Start the transfer at Static.app

Sign in to Static.app, open Domains, and choose Transfer Domain. The form has three parts:

1. Which domain are you moving? Type the whole name, such as yourbusiness.com. Static.app checks at once whether it can move, what the transfer costs, and which company holds it now.
2. Authorization code: paste the code from Alibaba Cloud. Copy it exactly, with no space before or after.
3. Owner contact: the registry records these details against the domain, so use an email address you read.

Tick the terms box and choose Continue to Payment. A transfer is charged like a registration and adds a year to the domain (two years on a .ai name, which is sold two years at a time). The transfer is sent to the registry once the payment goes through.

Static.app keeps the domain on the nameservers it uses today, so the transfer changes who you pay for the name and nothing else. Your website and email keep working, as long as the DNS behind those nameservers keeps answering.

Not every ending can move here yet. Country endings such as .uk, .de and .eu are not supported, and the form tells you as soon as you type the name.

Step 4: Wait for Alibaba Cloud to release the domain

When Alibaba Cloud receives the request, it sends a confirmation email to the registrant email address. You do not need to do anything with it: Alibaba Cloud says the domain transfers automatically within 5 to 7 days. It does not offer a way to approve the transfer early.

If you change your mind, you can cancel while the domain shows "Transferring Out": open the domain, then choose Domain Transfer-Out and Cancel Transfer-Out.

Step 5: Finish setting up the domain at Static.app

When the domain shows as Active in your Domains list, it is registered with Static.app. If the transfer does not go through, the domain stays where it was, the payment is refunded, and the domain page says why and offers Try the Transfer Again. The usual causes are a lock that is still on, a wrong or expired code, or a domain that changed hands in the last 60 days.

What is left depends on where your DNS lives:

• Your DNS is with a company you are keeping, such as Cloudflare or your hosting company: nothing changes. To open a Static.app website on the domain, add its records there, or move DNS here as below.
• Your DNS was at Alibaba Cloud: move it to Static.app the moment the domain shows Active, since that DNS may stop answering once the domain has left. The steps are in the next point.
• You want Static.app to run the DNS: open the domain, choose Edit beside Nameservers, then Reset to Default and Update Nameservers. Static.app writes the records for any website connected to the domain. Add everything else, such as your email records, in Manage DNS or Email & Forwarding right away, using the copy you made before the transfer.

To open one of your websites on the domain, choose Assign beside Website on the domain page and pick the website. With the DNS here, the records and the SSL certificate are set up for you. A paid plan is needed to publish a website on your own domain.

Moving a domain from another company? See every transfer guide.

Frequently asked questions

How long does a transfer from Alibaba Cloud take?

Five to seven days after the request reaches Alibaba Cloud. There is no early approval, so the main thing you control is starting before the 15-day transfer key runs out.

Do I lose the time I already paid Alibaba Cloud for?

No. For .com and the other common endings, the time left on the domain comes with it and the transfer adds a year on top. Alibaba Cloud does not charge for the transfer-out itself. The exception is a renewal or redemption from the last 45 days, which you may lose if you move too soon.

Will my website or email stop working?

Not because of the transfer itself: Static.app keeps your nameservers as they are. The risk is DNS that lived at Alibaba Cloud. If it stops answering after the move, your website and email stop with it until the records are set up again. That is why Alibaba Cloud asks you to move the DNS first, and why the records you wrote down matter.

Why does the transfer key page keep failing?

Alibaba Cloud says this usually means the registrant email address is unverified or incomplete. Check it on the domain's basic information page, then request the key again. If Static.app later says the key is invalid, check that it is under 15 days old and that you copied it exactly, without mixing up 0 and O.