How to Transfer a Domain from Bluehost to Static.app

To transfer a domain from Bluehost to Static.app, unlock the domain in the Bluehost Portal and request the authorization code, which Bluehost emails to the domain's registrant within 24 hours. Then start the transfer at Static.app with that code. Bluehost does not describe a way to approve it early, so expect it to finish in five to seven days. The one thing to do first is sort out your DNS, because Bluehost says DNS changes cannot be made once the transfer is in progress.

Before you start

• Check the dates. Bluehost will not start a transfer within 60 days of the domain being registered or transferred. Its help pages also list 60 days after a renewal. A change of registrant locks the domain for 60 days too, and Bluehost says it does not support opting out of that lock, so leave the owner details alone until the domain has moved.
• Check the registrant's email address. Bluehost sends the code to the registrant's email address on the domain, not to the email on your Bluehost account. If nobody reads that inbox, change it first, but remember that changing the registrant starts the 60-day lock.
• Save your DNS records. If the domain uses Bluehost's nameservers, its DNS records live in your Bluehost account. Bluehost does not say whether they keep answering after the domain has left, so plan as if they will not. Write down every record, especially the MX and TXT records your email depends on. Bluehost advises making any nameserver change before the transfer, as changes cannot be made while it is in progress.
• Check what else is tied to the domain. Bluehost does not say what happens to hosting or email on the domain after a transfer out. If you keep a Bluehost hosting plan, check with Bluehost before you start.
• Check whether the domain came free. If your hosting plan included a free domain and you cancel the plan within its first year, Bluehost charges a non-refundable domain fee at the domain's regular price. Bluehost says that once the fee is paid, you are free to transfer the domain.

Step 1: Unlock the domain at Bluehost

1. Sign in to the Bluehost Portal and choose Domains in the left-hand menu.
2. Select the domain.
3. On the overview tab, find Domain Lock and switch it off. Bluehost locks every domain by default.

Step 2: Request the authorization code

1. With the domain open, choose the Move & Access tab at the top.
2. Choose Request Auth Code.
3. Pick a reason for the transfer and choose Continue.
4. In the pop-up, choose Continue With Transfer.
5. In the next pop-up, choose Send Auth Code.

The code goes to the registrant's email address and can take up to 24 hours to arrive. It is case-sensitive, so copy it with no space before or after.

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 Bluehost. 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 Bluehost to release the domain

Bluehost does not document a way to approve an outgoing transfer early. While it runs, the domain shows a pending transfer status, and Bluehost says to wait for it to complete, which usually takes five to seven days. If you did not start a transfer and see that status, contact Bluehost at once to reject it.

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 Bluehost: 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 Bluehost take?

Up to a day for the code to arrive, then usually five to seven days for the transfer. The 60-day rules above are what most often hold it up.

Do I lose the time I already paid Bluehost 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. The cost to watch is the free domain: cancel the hosting plan in its first year and Bluehost charges the domain's regular price, which it does not refund.

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 Bluehost. Bluehost does not promise it keeps answering, so move DNS to Static.app as soon as the domain arrives, using the copy you saved.

Why has my code not arrived?

Bluehost sends it to the domain's registrant email, which is often not the address you sign in with. Allow 24 hours, check that inbox and its spam folder, and check the registrant address on the domain's contacts.