Is it Possible to Transfer Expired Domain Ownership?

The short answer

It depends on what you mean. If you own the domain and it has just expired, you can usually still move it to another registrar, but you may need to pay the overdue renewal first. If you want to take over someone else's expired domain, you cannot transfer it from them on your own: you have to buy it from the owner, win it at an auction, backorder it, or register it after it drops.

If you own the expired domain

ICANN's Transfer Policy says registered name holders must be able to transfer their domain names between registrars, as long as the new registrar's process meets the policy and the transfer is not prohibited by ICANN or registry rules. Being expired is not on the list of reasons a registrar may refuse. The reasons that are on the list include:

• evidence of fraud;
• a reasonable dispute over who the registrant is;
• no payment for the previous registration period, if the name is past its expiration date (the registrar must put the name on Registrar Hold before denying the transfer);
• an express objection from the authorized transfer contact;
• a transfer requested within 60 days of the creation date, or within 60 days after a previous transfer.

The policy also says a registrar may not deny a transfer for non-payment of a future registration period, and that it must not use the transfer process to collect payment other than in the cases above. In practice that means an expired name can be blocked from leaving until you pay the registrar for the lapsed term. Terms, fees and timing differ between registrars, so check yours.

The transfer authorization (FOA) expires if the domain name expires before the transfer is completed. If that happens, the new registrar must re-authorize the transfer before it can proceed. So start the transfer early, or renew first and then transfer.

How long you have is limited. After expiry a name may sit in an Auto Renew Grace Period of 1 to 45 days, if your registrar offers one. After deletion, ICANN's policy requires generic TLD registries to offer a 30-day Redemption Grace Period, during which registries are prohibited from transferring the name; the registered name holder can still restore it through the registrar. See the domain life cycle for the full timeline.