---
title: "Domain ownership transfer (assignment)"
description: "A domain ownership transfer assigns registrant rights to a new person or company without changing the registrar. See the process, timing and safeguards."
url: "https://nodea.io/en/glossary/domain-ownership-transfer"
lang: "en"
updated: "2026-07-13"
---

# Domain ownership transfer (assignment)

> A domain ownership transfer (assignment) is the formal handover of registrant rights to a domain name from one person or company to another, without changing the registrar or affecting how the website resolves.

A **domain ownership transfer** — also called a registrant change or assignment (in Poland: *cesja domeny*) — is the formal process of handing over all rights and obligations attached to a registered domain name from the current holder to a new person or organisation. Only the registrant recorded in the registry (and reflected in [WHOIS](https://nodea.io/en/glossary/whois)) changes; the registrar, the [DNS](https://nodea.io/en/glossary/dns) delegation and the website itself continue working untouched.

## How the process works

Details vary by registry and [TLD](https://nodea.io/en/glossary/tld), but the flow is broadly consistent:

1. The current registrant initiates the change in the registrar's control panel or via a signed request form.
2. Both parties confirm the operation, typically by clicking verification links e-mailed to the outgoing and incoming owner.
3. The new registrant supplies complete contact and legal data and accepts the registry's terms (for .pl domains, the NASK registry rules; for gTLDs, ICANN's change-of-registrant policy applies).
4. The registrar updates the registry record — usually free of charge and completed within hours to a few days. Some gTLD registrars apply a 60-day transfer lock after the change, which is worth knowing if a registrar transfer is planned next.

## Practical use cases

Registrant changes typically accompany: domain sales on the aftermarket, an agency handing a domain over to the client it was originally registered for, corporate events such as mergers, acquisitions or converting a sole proprietorship into a company, and clean-ups where an employee registered a business domain under personal details.

Sensible safeguards include verifying the expiry date and settling outstanding fees before the handover, enabling registrar lock and updating contact e-mails immediately afterwards, and — when buying from an unknown seller — using an escrow service that releases payment only once the registry confirms the new owner. Because the change never touches name servers, visitors experience no downtime during the entire process.

### Is a registrant change the same as a registrar transfer?

No. A registrant change (assignment) replaces the owner of the domain while the registrar stays the same. A registrar transfer moves the domain to a different provider using an AuthInfo/EPP code while the owner stays the same. Domain sales often involve both, performed one after the other.

## Related

- [AuthInfo code](https://nodea.io/en/glossary/authinfo-code)
- [WHOIS](https://nodea.io/en/glossary/whois)
- [TLD](https://nodea.io/en/glossary/tld)
- [DNS](https://nodea.io/en/glossary/dns)
- [DNS propagation](https://nodea.io/en/glossary/dns-propagation)

---

Languages: [pl](https://nodea.pl/pl/slownik-pojec/cesja-domeny.md)  
Site index: [llms.txt](https://nodea.io/en/llms.txt)