How to Transfer a Domain from Hostinger to Static.app

To transfer a domain from Hostinger to Static.app, open the domain's Domain Overview in hPanel, switch off the transfer lock and Privacy Protection, and choose Get code. Hostinger shows the code on screen. Then start the transfer at Static.app with that code and confirm any email Hostinger or the registry sends you. Hostinger says transfers usually take up to seven days. The one thing to do first is disable DNSSEC and save a copy of your DNS records.

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 its contact details. If the lock switches itself back on the moment you turn it off, that is why: try again once the 60 days are over.
• Check the expiry. A suspended or expired domain, or one in its redemption period, cannot be transferred. Renew or restore it at Hostinger first.
• Mind the 12-hour rule. After you change the lock, Hostinger makes you wait 12 hours before you can change it back. Unlock only when you are ready to move.
• Save your DNS records and disable DNSSEC. If the domain uses Hostinger's nameservers, its DNS records live in Hostinger. Hostinger does not say whether they keep answering once the domain has left, so plan as if they will not. Write down every record in the DNS zone editor, especially the MX and TXT records your email depends on. Hostinger also requires DNSSEC to be off before a transfer.
• Check what else is tied to the domain. Hostinger does not say what happens to hosting or email on a domain that moves away. If you only want to move the website and keep the domain where it is, Hostinger points out that changing the nameservers does that, free.

Step 1: Unlock the domain and turn off privacy

1. Sign in to hPanel and open Domains.
2. Choose Manage next to the domain.
3. In Domain Overview, switch off the transfer lock toggle. Hostinger labels it Transfer lock in one help article and Domain lock in another.
4. Switch off the Privacy Protection toggle.

Not every ending shows the lock toggle. If yours does not, ask Hostinger support how to release it.

Step 2: Get the authorization code

Still in Domain Overview, find Authorization code and choose Get code. Copy the code that appears. If the domain has Domain Shield, Hostinger asks for a one-time password first.

Keep the code private: Hostinger's advice is to treat it like a password.

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 Hostinger. 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 Hostinger to release the domain

Watch your inbox for a transfer confirmation from Hostinger or from the registry, and confirm it promptly. Hostinger says a late answer can delay the transfer or get it refused.

Hostinger does not describe a way to approve the transfer early. It says transfers typically take up to seven days.

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 Hostinger: 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 Hostinger take?

Up to seven days, by Hostinger's own figure. Most of the waiting is usually before that, on the 60-day rule and, if you change your mind about the lock, the 12-hour wait.

Do I lose the time I already paid Hostinger for, or the free domain?

For .com and the other common endings, the time left on the domain comes with it and the transfer adds a year on top. Hostinger lists completed transfers and domain renewals as non-refundable. If the domain came free with a hosting plan and you later get that plan refunded, Hostinger may take the domain's standard price off the 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 Hostinger. If it stops answering after the move, your website and email stop with it until the records are set up again, which is why the copy you saved matters. Moving DNS to Static.app as soon as the domain arrives takes a few minutes.

The lock turns itself back on. What is wrong?

Hostinger relocks the domain when unlocking is not allowed yet, which almost always means it was registered, transferred or had its contact details changed in the last 60 days. Wait until the 60 days are over, then switch it off again.