Transferring a domain to a different AWS account
If you registered a domain using one AWS account and you want to transfer the domain to another AWS account, you can easily transfer it by using the new console, or by using the AWS CLI or other programmatic methods.
Topics
Step 1: Transfer a domain to a different AWS account
Domains cannot be transferred within the first 14 days of registration.
When you initiate the domain transfer, you must sign in either by using the root account or by using a user that has been granted IAM permissions in one or more of the following ways:
-
The user is assigned the AdministratorAccess managed policy.
-
The user is assigned the AmazonRoute53DomainsFullAccess managed policy.
-
The user is assigned the AmazonRoute53FullAccess managed policy.
-
The user is assigned the PowerUserAccess managed policy.
-
The user has permission to perform all the following actions:
TransferDomains,DisableDomainTransferLock, andRetrieveDomainAuthCode.
If you don't sign in either by using the root account or by using a user that has the required permissions, we can't perform the transfer. This requirement prevents unauthorized users from transferring domains to other AWS accounts.
The transfer process has two steps. First the originating account owner starts the transfer: in the initiate a transfer to another AWS account procedure, and then the destination account owner accepts the transfer in the accept a transfer from another AWS account procedure.
To transfer a domain to a different AWS account
-
Sign in to AWS by using the AWS account that the domain is currently registered to.
Open the Route 53 console at https://console.aws.amazon.com/route53/
. -
In the navigation pane, choose Registered domains.
-
Choose the name of the domain that you want to transfer to another AWS account.
-
Above the Details section, in the Transfer out dropdown, choose Transfer to another AWS account.
-
On the Transfer to another AWS account dialog, enter the destination account ID. You can get this ID from the destination AWS account owner.
-
Choose Confirm.
-
On the Generate password dialog, copy the password, and forward it to the receiving AWS account owner.
On the Requests page, the Status for the domain will display In progress, and the Type will display Internal transfer out.
To accept a domain transfer from a different AWS account
-
Sign into AWS by using the AWS account that is receiving the domain.
Open the Route 53 console at https://console.aws.amazon.com/route53/
. -
In the navigation pane, choose Requests.
-
On the Requests page, select the radio button next to the domain name you are transferring from another AWS account. If the domain is ready to be transferred the Status is Action required and the Type is Internal transfer of domain in.
You have three days to accept the request. If the transfer isn't accepted in three days, the transfer request is cancelled.
-
In the Action dropdown, choose Accept.
You can also choose Reject to cancel the transfer process.
-
If you accepted, on the Transfer domain to your account page, in the Password section, enter the password you received from the originating account owner.
Accept the terms and conditions, and choose Next.
-
Navigate to the Requests page to monitor the transfer status and other steps to complete.
-
After the transfer completes, you can update the contact information. For more information, see Updating contact information and ownership for a domain.
- Transfer the domain programmatically
-
You can also transfer the domain programmatically by using the AWS CLI, one of the AWS SDKs, or the Route 53 API. For more information, see the following documentation:
-
For an overview of the transfer process and documentation about the API actions that you use to transfer a domain using the Route 53 domain registration API, see TransferDomainToAnotherAwsAccount in the Amazon Route 53 API Reference.
-
For documentation about other options for transferring domains programmatically, see "SDKs & Toolkits" in the Guides and API References section of the "AWS documentation" page.
-
The receiving account has three days to accept the transfer from the originating account, by using the transfer-domain-to-another-aws-account API. If the transfer isn't accepted in three days, the transfer request is cancelled.
Important
When you transfer a domain to a different AWS account, the hosted zone for the domain isn't transferred. If you also want to transfer the hosted zone, wait until the domain has been transferred, and then see Step 2 (Optional): Migrate a hosted zone to a different AWS account.
-
Step 2 (Optional): Migrate a hosted zone to a different AWS account
If you're using Route 53 as the DNS service for the domain, Route 53 doesn't transfer the hosted zone when you transfer a domain to a different AWS account. If domain registration is associated with one account and the corresponding hosted zone is associated with another account, neither domain registration nor DNS functionality is affected. The only effect is that you'll need to sign into the Route 53 console using one account to see the domain, and sign in using the other account to see the hosted zone.
If you own the account that you're transferring the domain from and the account that you're transferring the domain to, you can optionally migrate the hosted zone for the domain to a different account, but it's not required. Route 53 will continue to use the records in the existing hosted zone to route traffic for the domain.
Important
If you don't own both the account that you're transferring the domain from and the account that you're transferring the domain to, you must either migrate the existing hosted zone to the AWS account that you're transferring the domain to, or create a new hosted zone in an AWS account that you own. If you don't own the account that created the hosted zone that routes traffic for the domain, you can't control how traffic is routed.
To migrate the existing hosted zone to the new account, see Migrating a hosted zone to a different AWS account.
To create a new hosted zone, see Making Amazon Route 53 the DNS service for an existing domain. This topic is typically used when you're transferring domains from another registrar to Route 53, but the process is the same when you're transferring domains from one AWS account to another.
