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Unfortunately, transferring a domain name can often turn out to be problematic. This applies to all domains except for .no domains which you will always be able to transfer without much hassle. Problems occur when the current provider for some reason do not reply to your messages or do not want to give you the answer you need. The following parts of the transfer process is exposed to problems (ref. Guide for transferring a domain):

• The current provider does not open up for transferring the domain name (point 5)
  Most providers will block the domains they administer so these cannot be transferred away from them unless you disable the function or they are notified. This is also a security mechanism to hinder customers' domains to be hijacked. If this block is not removed, the domain can not be transferred.
  What you can do:
  1. Check if the domain is blocked from being transferred
     You must do a WHOIS lookup on the domain to check the status of the domain. You can do this via our website by searching for your domain. On the search result page you will be able to click on a round button with the letter "i" next to your domain. When you click on it, you will see the WHOIS lookup for your domain. Under you will find an example of a WHOIS lookup for the domain abcd.com:
     
     Domain Name: ABCD.COM
     Registrar: NETWORK SOLUTIONS, LLC.
     Whois Server: whois.networksolutions.com
     Referral URL: http://www.networksolutions.com
     Name Server: GNS-3.INFOSEEK.COM
     Name Server: HUEY.DISNEY.COM
     Status: clientTransferProhibited
     Updated Date: 09-oct-2006
     Creation Date: 06-apr-1995
     Expiration Date: 07-apr-2007
     
     It is the line Status that is interesting to us. If it contains clientTransferProhibited, like in this case, the domain name cannot be transferred.
      
  2. Check if you are listed as the domain's registrant
     To get anywhere even if you cannot get in touch with your provider, or the provider is unable to change the domain's status, you must be listed as the registrant of the domain. The registrant is the one who owns the domain. To find out if you are listed as the domain's registrant, you must look at a more detailed WHOIS lookup. You will find that at the registrar of the domain. Only a few suppliers are registrars, so your supplier is most likely not. You can see who is the registrar in the WHOIS lookup. The line Registrar gives you the name of the registrar, while Referral URL gives you the URL of the registrar's website.
     
     In the registrar website you will find a link to perform a WHOIS lookup. The is almost always in the upper menu on the page or in the footer of the page. The detailed WHOIS looks like this for abcd.com:
      

     	Registrant:
     	Disney Enterprises, Inc.
     	500 S. Buena Vista Street
     	506 Second Ave. Suite 2100
     	Burbank, CA 91521
     	US
     	Domain Name: ABCD.COM
     	Administrative Contact , Technical Contact :
     	Disney Online
     	domain.registrar@ONLINE.DISNEY.COM
     	Attn Phil Wahl 500 S Buena Vista Street
     	Burbank, CA 91521
     	US
     	Phone: 818.623.3325
     	Fax: 818.623.3555
     	Record expires on 05-Jul-2007
     	Record created on 06-Apr-1995
     	Database last updated on 09-Oct-2006
     	Domain servers in listed order:	Manage DNS
     	HUEY.DISNEY.COM	204.128.192.10
     	GNS-3.INFOSEEK.COM	204.162.96.32

     
     The detailed lookups varies from registrar to registrar. From the information in the example, you can see that "Disney Enterprises, Inc." is listed as the registrant (owner) of the domain. If you are not listed as the registrant of your domain, you must use legal instruments to go forward with transferring your domain.
      
  3. Contact the registrar
     If you are listed as the registrant, you can contact the registrar of the domain directly. You have to find their contact information on their website. The registrar will guide you regarding the process for transffering your domain name.
      
• The current provider does not give you the authorization key (point 8 b.)
  To start the process we need an authorization key. This is also a security mechanism to prevent hijacking of domain names. Without the authorization key, we cannot start the process of transferring the domain.
  
  What you can do:
  You can do the same as in the point above, except for point 1, since we assume the domain is open for being moved already. You may therefore contact the registrar directly, but it requires that you are the registrant of the domain.
   
• The current provider has set their own email address as administrator of the domain, and does not reply to inquiries from PRO ISP (point 8 b.)
  When the authorization key is received and the moving of the domain is set in motion, there will be sent an email to the administrator of the domain. Via the email, the administrator of the domain must approve the moving. A few providers set their own email address as the administrator as yet another prevention of unauthorized moving. This used to be more common before, when the authorization key did not exist.
  
  What you can do:
  You can do the same as in the point above. You may contact the registrar directly, but it requires that you are the registrant of the domain. To chech which email is listed as administrator, you must look at the detailed WHOIS lookup.

If you want, we can take care of this process on behalf of you. However, it will probably be faster for you to contact the registrar of the domain directly on your own.