How to Transfer a Domain from Hover to Static.app

To transfer a domain from Hover to Static.app, turn off the domain's transfer lock in your Hover control panel and retrieve its authorization code. Then start the transfer at Static.app with that code and confirm it from the email Hover sends to the domain's Owner contact. Hover says acting on that email promptly helps the transfer finish faster. The one thing to do first is set up your email and DNS somewhere else, because Hover disconnects its email service when the domain leaves.

Before you start

• Check the dates. Hover puts a 60-day lock on new registrations and on domains transferred in, as ICANN requires. Changing the Owner's name, organization or email can add the same lock. When you make that change, tick Don't apply a 60-day transfer lock to this domain if you plan to move the domain soon.
• No need to wait for the expiry. Hover says you can move a domain at any time, and recommends starting early so there is room for anything that comes up.
• Check the contact email addresses. Hover asks you to confirm that the Admin and Owner contact addresses are valid and reachable. The transfer email goes to the Owner contact, so fix it now if nobody reads that inbox.
• Set up DNS before you start. If the domain uses Hover's nameservers (ns1.hover.com and ns2.hover.com), its DNS records live at Hover. Nameservers cannot be changed once a transfer is in progress. Hover does not say whether its DNS keeps answering after 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.
• Move your Hover email first. Hover disconnects email service once the domain transfers away. Back up your mail, choose a new email provider, update the DNS records for it, and set up your mail apps again before you start.

Step 1: Unlock the domain and get the code at Hover

1. Sign in to Hover with your two-step sign-in and choose Control Panel.
2. Select the domain to open its Overview page.
3. Switch off the Transfer lock toggle.
4. Retrieve the domain's authorization code from your Hover account and keep it ready for Static.app.

Hover says the lock can only be removed from inside your Hover account, so you have to do this step yourself. If you plan to change the Owner details too, do that first and tick the box to skip the 60-day lock.

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 Hover. 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: Confirm the transfer at Hover

Once Static.app has sent the request, Hover emails the Owner contact address. The email has a link to confirm or cancel the transfer.

1. Open the transfer-away email from Hover.
2. Follow the link and confirm the transfer.

Hover says acting on the email promptly can help the transfer complete faster. You can still cancel with the same link, but only until you approve. Once approved, the transfer cannot be cancelled.

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 Hover: 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 Hover take?

Hover does not give a figure. It does say that confirming the transfer-away email promptly helps it complete faster, so watch the Owner contact inbox once you have started the transfer at Static.app.

Do I lose the time I already paid Hover 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. That is also why Hover says there is no downside to starting well before your renewal date. Hover's transfer page does not mention refunds.

Will my website or email stop working?

Email from Hover will: Hover disconnects it when the domain leaves, so move your mailboxes first. Your website does not stop because of the transfer itself, since Static.app keeps your nameservers as they are. The risk is DNS that lived at Hover. If it stops answering after the move, your website stops with it until the records are set up again, which is why the list you wrote down matters.

I changed the owner details and now the domain is locked. What can I do?

Hover's article on owner changes says that if the 60-day lock was applied by mistake, you can submit another change to the Owner contact and tick the box to skip the lock, which clears it. Its transfer article warns that once the lock is applied Hover cannot lift it early, so tick the box the first time if you can.