Extension rules table

A reference table for the eight extensions that appear most often in European domain deals, and the rules that decide how a handover is scheduled.

The table

Extension	Registry	Transfer mechanism	Code needed	Notable rule
.com	Verisign	Unlock, then a transfer request submitted by the gaining registrar	Authorisation code	A transfer may be refused within sixty days of registration, of a previous transfer, or of a change of registrant
.net	Verisign	As .com	Authorisation code	Same policy periods as .com; a completed transfer normally adds a year to the term
.org	Public Interest Registry	As .com	Authorisation code	Same policy periods as .com; registrant contact verification lapses can block changes
.nl	SIDN	Gaining registrar submits a token	Transfer token	The losing registrar must supply the token within five days of a request; the transfer itself executes immediately
.de	DENIC	Provider change request, holder change possible at the same time	AuthInfo, eight to sixteen characters	The AuthInfo expires automatically after thirty days and must then be requested again
.be	DNS Belgium	Transfer request submitted with the code	Transfer code issued to the registrant	The code is valid for seven days and can be resent, each resend starting a fresh seven day window
.eu	EURid	Transfer request submitted by the gaining registrar	Authorisation code from the registrar or the registrant account at the registry	More than one code can exist at a time, each with its own expiry; a suspended name cannot be transferred
.co.uk	Nominet	The losing registrar changes the registrar tag, the gaining registrar then claims the name	None	No authorisation code exists for this extension, so the seller has to act at the agreed moment rather than hand over a credential

Reading the table into a deal

Two columns decide the handover date. The mechanism column says what the seller has to do and whether the buyer has anything to submit. The notable rule column says whether the date is achievable at all.

For .com, .net and .org, the sixty day periods are the ones that catch people. A name registered or transferred in recent weeks, or one whose registrant details were edited, may not be movable to another registrar yet. A push inside the current registrar avoids all three, which is why the mechanism is worth agreeing rather than assuming.

For .nl, .de, .be and .eu the registries act on a valid credential straight away. The elapsed time is the time it takes the seller to obtain the code or token, which is a support queue question rather than a policy question.

For .co.uk the absence of a code changes the payment sequence. There is nothing to place with an escrow provider, so the trigger for the seller acting has to be the confirmation that funds are held.

Codes and their lifespans

Only two of these extensions publish a fixed code lifetime: thirty days for a DENIC AuthInfo and seven days for a DNS Belgium transfer code, with resends extending the latter. The others set validity at registrar or registry level and it is not always visible.

The safe working rule across all of them is to request the credential when the buyer is ready to use it, not weeks earlier while price is still being discussed. The practical detail is in auth codes explained.

What the table does not cover

Registration eligibility is separate from transferability. Some extensions restrict who may hold a name, and a transfer to a party that does not qualify will be refused even when every code and lock is correct. Check the registry conditions before agreeing to buy a name under a restricted extension.

Quarantine and redemption stages are also outside the table. A name that has been cancelled or has expired sits in a registry stage where it cannot be transferred at all, whatever the seller says about being able to recover it.

Registry level locks apply across all eight. Where a name shows serverTransferProhibited, no control panel action will release it and the release itself takes days. The distinction between that and an ordinary registrar lock is set out in registrar locks and waiting periods, and the same extensions are compared in narrative form in transfer rules by extension.