If you registered a domain name at another domain name registrar and need to transfer this domain name to Alibaba Cloud for management, follow the instructions in this topic. This topic describes the transfer procedure to guide you through a swift and smooth transfer.

Prerequisites

  • The domain name can be transferred to Alibaba Cloud.
    • Only domain names with English or Chinese prefixes can be transferred to Alibaba Cloud. If a domain name has a prefix in another language, such as Russian and Japanese, the domain name cannot be transferred to Alibaba Cloud.

    • Visit the Domain Name pricing page and view the prices in the Transfer Price column. You can transfer only domain names that have transfer prices to Alibaba Cloud.

  • A registrant profile is created and has passed the real-name verification. For more information, see Real-name verification for CNNIC templates.

    When you transfer a .cn domain name to Alibaba Cloud, you must select a registrant profile that has passed the real-name verification. Otherwise, you cannot submit the order or pay for the transfer. During the transfer process, the domain name is checked based on specific naming rules.

Background information

After a domain name is transferred to Alibaba Cloud, its registrar is changed to Alibaba Cloud. The transfer process is usually complete within five to seven days. The actual time required depends on the time taken by the registry to process the transfer and the time taken by the original registrar to confirm the transfer.
Note
  • Alibaba Cloud is only the registrar of the domain name. The domain name belongs to the domain name registrant.

  • To comply with the Temporary Specification for gTLD Registration Data (Temporary Specification) issued by Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), and the compliance requirements stated in General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Alibaba Cloud WHOIS no longer provides personal information about registrants from May 25, 2018. Relevant services were therefore suspended from May 25, 2018. For more information, see Alibaba Cloud Domain Privacy & Proxy Service will be suspended.

Procedure

Before you transfer your domain name to Alibaba Cloud, check the transfer prices and rules. For more information, see Fees and rules for transferring a domain name to Alibaba Cloud.
Note If your domain names have been renewed for the maximum validity period of 10 years, some of them can be transferred to Alibaba Cloud but cannot be renewed for another year. Some of them cannot be transferred because their validity period is greater than 10 years after the transfer and the transfer is rejected by the registry or registrar. For such domain names, we recommend that you wait until the validity period is less than 10 years before you transfer the domain names to Alibaba Cloud.
  1. Check the domain name before you transfer it to Alibaba Cloud.
    • Optional. Modify the administrative contact information.

      All subsequent confirmation emails related to the transfer are sent to the email address of the administrative contact. Make sure that the administrative contact information of the domain name is valid and modify the information if required.

    • Optional. Unlock the domain name if it is in the clientHold state.
    • Disable prohibition of domain name transfer.

      If transfer prohibition is enabled for your domain name, you must disable this feature.

    • Obtain the transfer key, which is also known as transfer code, transfer password, or domain name password.
  2. Log on to the Domains console.
  3. In the left-side navigation pane, click Domain Transfers-In. On the page that appears, click Transfer Domain Name In.
  4. Enter your domain name and transfer key. Then, click Submit.
    • Enter the information in the <Domain name> <Transfer key> format.
    • A space is required between <Domain name> and <Transfer key>. Enter a domain name and a transfer key in each row.
    • You can transfer a maximum of 50 domain names to Alibaba Cloud at a time.
    • If you want to transfer a large number of domain names to Alibaba Cloud at a time, we recommend that you edit the domain names and transfer keys in a text editor such as Word, Excel, or Notepad and then copy them to the list.
  5. Select a registrant profile and click Next.
    Note When you transfer a .cn domain name to Alibaba Cloud, you must select a registrant profile that has passed the real-name verification. Otherwise, the transfer request fails to be submitted. For more information about the real-name verification for a registrant profile, see Real-name verification for CNNIC templates.
  6. Check the order amount and click Pay.
  7. Verify the transfer key of the domain name.
    The system automatically checks whether the transfer key that you enter is valid. If the transfer key is valid, domain name transfer starts. The transfer process is usually complete within five to seven days based on the rules of the domain name registry.

What to do next

Check the transfer progress.
  1. Log on to the Domains console.
  2. In the left-side navigation pane, click Domain Transfers-In. On the page that appears, check whether the transfer is successful.