How to Transfer a Domain from Cloudflare to Static.app

To transfer a domain from Cloudflare Registrar to Static.app, unlock the domain in the Cloudflare dashboard and copy the auth code it shows. Then start the transfer at Static.app with that code and approve it at Cloudflare, which starts it at once. Left alone, Cloudflare approves it itself on the fifth day. The one thing to do first is turn off DNSSEC, since an active DNSSEC setup blocks the transfer.

Before you start

• Check the dates. A domain cannot move within 60 days of being registered or transferred, or within 60 days of a change to the registrant details, even when those details are redacted. When you approve a change of registrant at Cloudflare, you can choose Do not apply 60 day transfer lock before accepting, so the change does not hold up the move.
• Turn off DNSSEC. Cloudflare says active DNSSEC will block the transfer. In the domain's dashboard, go to DNS, then Settings, and choose Disable DNSSEC. Then wait for the old DS record to expire, usually about 24 hours, before you start.
• Check who can see the code. Anyone with super admin or admin rights on the zone can unlock the domain and read its auth code. Make sure that is only people you trust.
• Understand what happens to your DNS. A Cloudflare Registrar domain always uses Cloudflare's nameservers, and your DNS records live in a Cloudflare zone. The zone keeps working only while the domain stays on Cloudflare's nameservers. Static.app keeps those nameservers during the transfer, so your records keep answering. Do not delete the zone at Cloudflare.
• Keep a copy of your records anyway. If you later point the domain at other nameservers, a zone on Cloudflare's Free plan is marked Moved and is deleted about a week later. Copy every record before you change nameservers, especially the MX and TXT records your email depends on.

Step 1: Unlock the domain and copy the auth code

1. Sign in to the Cloudflare dashboard and open Manage Domains.
2. Find the domain and choose Manage.
3. Go to Configuration and choose Unlock.
4. Choose Confirm and Unlock.
5. Copy the auth code that appears.

Cloudflare shows the code in the dashboard and does not email it. If you lose it, choose Regenerate, or lock the domain and unlock it again. Codes are valid only for a limited time, so use it soon, and check that no space or line break comes with it when you paste.

Step 2: 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 Cloudflare. 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 3: Approve the transfer at Cloudflare

Once the request reaches Cloudflare, you can approve it by hand in the dashboard, and Cloudflare says that starts the transfer immediately. If you reject it instead, Cloudflare puts the lock back on. If you do nothing, Cloudflare approves the transfer itself on the fifth day after it receives the request.

When the transfer completes, Cloudflare removes the domain from your registrar account and stops charging you for renewals. Your DNS zone is a separate thing and stays where it is.

Step 4: 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 Cloudflare: 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 Cloudflare take?

Approving it at Cloudflare starts it at once. If you do not, it can take up to five days.Most of the waiting is usually before that: the 60-day rule, and the day it takes an old DS record to expire after you turn off DNSSEC.

Do I lose the time I already paid Cloudflare 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. Cloudflare does not refund renewals or registration costs, and it simply stops billing you once the domain has left.

Will my website or email stop working?

Not if you keep Cloudflare's nameservers. Static.app leaves them in place, so your Cloudflare zone keeps answering on the Free plan and nothing has to change. If you want Static.app to run the DNS later, add your records here first, then switch the nameservers. From that moment the Cloudflare zone counts down to deletion, which is fine once nothing depends on it.

Can I turn DNSSEC back on afterwards?

Leave it off until the domain shows as Active at Static.app. Cloudflare's guidance only covers turning it off before the move. If you also plan to change nameservers, Cloudflare warns that doing it while an old DS record is still cached can stop the domain resolving for some visitors, so give it the same day to expire.