How to Transfer a Domain from Namecheap to Static.app

To transfer a domain from Namecheap to Static.app, unlock it on its Sharing & Transfer tab and ask for the auth code, which Namecheap emails to the domain's owner address. Then start the transfer at Static.app with that code. Namecheap releases the domain on its own five days after the transfer starts, or sooner if you answer its transfer-out email. The one thing to do first is check that you can read the owner's inbox, 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 within 60 days of its last move between registrars. A change to the owner details does not hold it back at Namecheap: its registration agreement opts you out of that 60-day lock.
• Check the expiry. A domain in redemption cannot be transferred out. Renew or restore it at Namecheap first. Some endings, such as .ch, .es, .fr, .li, .pe and .sg, must be renewed at least 12 days before they expire.
• Check the owner's email address. Namecheap sends the code to the registrant email on the domain, which may not be the email you sign in with. Fix it now if nobody reads that inbox.
• Save your DNS records. If the domain uses Namecheap's own DNS, Namecheap does not say whether those records keep answering once the domain has left, so plan as if they will not. Write down every record on the domain's DNS page, especially the MX and TXT records your email depends on. Make any DNS change you need before you start: once the transfer has begun, the nameservers cannot be changed.
• Check what else is tied to the domain. Namecheap Private Email keeps working only while its MX and TXT records exist in whatever DNS the domain uses, so they belong on your copy.

Step 1: Unlock the domain and request the code

1. Sign in to Namecheap and open Domain List in the left sidebar.
2. Choose Manage next to the domain.
3. Open the Sharing & Transfer tab.
4. At the bottom of the page, use Unlock and Auth code.
5. Pick your reason for transferring out and choose Send Code.

Step 2: Find the code in the owner's inbox

Namecheap does not show the code on the page. It emails it to the registrant email on the domain. If it does not arrive, look in spam, then check that address on the domain's contact details and request the code again.

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 Namecheap. 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: Release the domain from Namecheap's email

Once the transfer has started, Namecheap sends a transfer-out notification to the registrant email. Namecheap says that answering it releases the domain sooner than the usual wait.

If you do nothing, the transfer is approved automatically five calendar days after it starts. Either way, there is nothing to click in your Namecheap account.

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 Namecheap: 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 Namecheap take?

Up to five days after it starts, or less if you release it from Namecheap's transfer-out email. Most of the waiting is usually before that, on the code and the 60-day rule.

Do I lose the time I already paid Namecheap 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. Namecheap does not refund anything: its agreement says fees are non-refundable even if the domain is transferred before the end of its term.

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 Namecheap. 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 code never arrived. What now?

It went to the registrant email on the domain, not necessarily to your Namecheap account email. Check spam in that inbox. If the address is one nobody reads, change it on the domain's contact details, then choose Send Code again on the Sharing & Transfer tab.