How to Transfer a Domain from OVHcloud to Static.app

To transfer a domain from OVHcloud to Static.app, turn off the domain's transfer protection in the OVHcloud Control Panel and copy the AUTH/INFO code it shows you. Then start the transfer at Static.app with that code and accept it from the email OVHcloud sends. Left alone, it completes automatically, usually after five days. The one thing to know first: the protection switches itself back on after seven days, so start the transfer at Static.app within that week.

Before you start

• Check the dates. The domain must have been registered at least 60 days ago, and must not have been transferred or changed holder in the last 60 days.
• Check the expiry. You can still unlock an expired domain and get its code. A domain in the redemption period may have to be restored before it can move.
• Check which account you use. Your OVHcloud account must be the domain's administrator contact. Otherwise OVHcloud refuses to unlock it with "User not granted for this request". The approval email also goes to that contact.
• Save your DNS records. If the domain uses OVHcloud's DNS servers, its records live in a DNS zone in your OVHcloud account. OVHcloud does not say whether that zone keeps answering after the domain has left, so plan as if it will not. Write down every record, especially the MX and TXT records your email depends on. If OVHcloud ever deletes a DNS zone, it emails the administrator contact a link to the old zone's contents, valid for 30 days.
• Check what else is tied to the domain. OVHcloud does not say what happens to email or web hosting on the domain after an outgoing transfer. If you keep OVHcloud email, make sure its records go into your DNS at Static.app.

Step 1: Turn off transfer protection at OVHcloud

1. In the OVHcloud Control Panel, go to Web Cloud, then Domain names, and choose the domain.
2. On the General information tab, find Protection against domain name transfer under Security. It is enabled by default.
3. Click the slider and confirm in the pop-up. After a few minutes the status changes to Disabled.

If there is no protection button at all, the domain's ending does not need a transfer code and you can start the transfer straight away.

Step 2: Copy the AUTH/INFO code

On the same tab, click AUTH/INFO next to Protection against domain name transfer, refreshing the page if it does not appear. A window shows the code. Copy and paste it rather than typing it, as some characters are easy to confuse.

If OVHcloud says "Authcode is not managed by OVHcloud", the registry for that ending holds the code and you have to ask the registry for it. Once you have the code, do not switch the protection back on unless you have decided not to move.

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 OVHcloud. 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: Accept the transfer at OVHcloud

Depending on the ending, OVHcloud emails the domain's administrative contact about the outgoing transfer. To speed it up:

1. Open the email from OVHcloud and click the validation link.
2. Check that the domain and the operation are the ones you expect.
3. Click Accept.

Clicking Reject cancels the transfer. If you do nothing, it completes automatically, usually after five days. OVHcloud support can also speed it up on request. OVHcloud says the whole transfer can take up to ten 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 OVHcloud: 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 OVHcloud take?

Usually about five days if you do nothing, less if you accept OVHcloud's email, and up to ten days in all according to OVHcloud.

Do I lose the time I already paid OVHcloud 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. OVHcloud's FAQ says domain names cannot be refunded once registered.

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

Static.app says my code is wrong. What now?

OVHcloud's way to get a new code is to switch Protection against domain name transfer back on, wait a few minutes, switch it off again and click AUTH/INFO. Remember the seven days: if the protection has switched itself back on, turn it off again first.