How to convince your old registrar to give you a brand new authorization code

You're transferring in a domain to Porkbun, and did everything right. You unlocked the domain, put in your authorization code at Porkbun and paid for the transfer, but you keep seeing a "bad authcode" error on the transfer page. You ask your previous registrar to confirm the authorization code and they send you the exact same code, which still doesn't work. By now you're pulling your hair out!

The problem is that the authorization code from your old registrar has fallen out of sync with the registry. This means you'll need to contact your old registrar and ask for a "brand new" authorization code, which syncs the codes. Once they give you a totally new code, log back in to Porkbun and update the authorization code listed on your Transfers page.

You may have to escalate your case to get a new code

If your old registrar keeps giving you the same code and insisting they can't generate a brand new code, you'll usually need to request escalation in order to get to a technician who can do it for you. Here's how to politely request escalation when your old registrar is being stubborn:

You:
The authorization code you gave me doesn't work. Can you generate a brand new authorization code?

Tech support agent at your old registrar:
I can assure you this code is good and up to date.

You:
I'm really sorry, but I need a brand new code. Can I request this case be escalated to someone who can generate a brand new authorization code for me?

Tech support agent at your old registrar:
It's simply not possible to generate a new code.

You:
May I speak with your manager then?

Tech support agent at your old registrar:
Please hold.

But why does this even happen?

We're still not quite sure, but it's common enough that we wrote this article. Our guess is either your old registrar accidentally generated an authorization code and didn't properly log the change, or the registry expired the old authorization code. 

Is this going to happen again if I ever had to leave Porkbun?

Nope! Here at Porkbun we generate a brand new authorization code every single time you request one, so if the authorization code doesn't work at your new registrar, you can just return to Porkbun's authorization code area and there will be a brand new code waiting for you.