Handover timeline

Day zero: terms fixed

The price, the mechanism, the deadline and the cost split are agreed in writing. The buyer has looked up the name and read the status codes, and the seller has confirmed that no waiting period blocks the date.

Both sides have identified each other in full and have the receiving accounts ready. Nothing has been paid and no code exists yet.

Day one: escrow opened and funded

One side opens the escrow transaction with the exact name, amount and inspection period. The other accepts the terms as written rather than as remembered.

The buyer funds. The confirmation that matters is the one shown inside the escrow platform, not an email or a screenshot of a bank transfer. A domestic transfer in the same currency usually appears the same day, a cross border payment may take longer.

Day two: seller acts

With funds confirmed held, the seller removes the registrar lock, generates the authorisation code fresh and sends it through the agreed channel only.

For a push, the seller executes the push to the buyer's account identifier and confirms. For .co.uk, the seller changes the registrar tag. For .nl, the seller requests the token from the losing registrar, which under the rules must supply it within five days.

The buyer submits the code or token at the gaining registrar and records the request with a screenshot showing the time.

Day two: the fast extensions complete

A push lands in minutes. DENIC executes a .de provider change as soon as the AuthInfo validates, and DNS Belgium executes a .be transfer immediately on a valid code. A .co.uk tag change is normally effective within a day.

On these routes the name should be in the buyer's account the same day the credential is used. If it is not, the cause is almost always a lock still in place or an expired code.

Days three to five: the generic extension window

For .com, .net and .org the request sits with the losing registrar, which is given a response window. Some registrars approve at once when the registrant confirms in their control panel, which is worth asking the seller to do.

If nobody acts, the registry completes the transfer once the window closes, normally within about five days of the request. A transfer showing as pending on day three is not a problem. A transfer showing as failed on day three is, and the reason is usually visible in the registrar status message.

Day five or six: buyer verifies

The name appears in the receiving account. The buyer checks three things against the agreement: the exact spelling, the expiry date, and the sponsoring registrar in an independent lookup.

The buyer screenshots the domain overview page with the date visible, then accepts inside the escrow platform. Funds release to the seller.

Days six to eight: the name is secured

Password changed, two factor authentication enabled, sub users and API keys cleared, contacts updated, nameservers moved to a provider the buyer controls, transfer lock back on, auto renew enabled. The full sequence is in the first week after payment.

The seller removes the name from every listing, deletes stored codes and gives up recovery access.

When a step slips

1. Funding not confirmed by day two. Contact the bank with the reference rather than the seller. Do not restart the transaction, which creates two.
2. Code not received by day three. Ask the seller for the registrar ticket number rather than a promise.
3. Transfer rejected. Usually a lock still on, a waiting period running or an expired code. Each is fixable and none justifies releasing funds early.
4. Silence for more than two working days. Send written notice referring to the deadline in the agreement and stop the clock on any further steps.
5. Inspection period running out while a transfer is pending. Ask the escrow provider in writing to extend it before it expires, never after.

Never release funds against a screenshot of a transfer in progress. Release against the name sitting in the receiving account.

The list of things to confirm before any of this starts is in the buyer checklist.