What do transfer statuses mean?

If you've purchased a transfer from Porkbun but it hasn't yet arrived, click "Transfer" at the top of any Porkbun screen. The status is listed to the right of your domain under “Status”.

Porkbun transfer statuses and what they mean

pending transfer from losing registrar | registrar name

This is what you want to see. It means that you have completed all the steps on our end to have the domain transferred to Porkbun. From here it can take up to five business days for the transfer to complete. Some registrars will expedite transfers out if you request it once the transfer is in process… but not all. ( Here is how to expedite a transfer from GoDaddy, for instance).

bad authcode, pending whois

The registry is telling us the code is bad. Check the authorization code you received from your old registrar and make sure it matches what we have listed on the "transfer" page. If you’re sure the auth code has been entered correctly, try asking your previous registrar to generate a new authorization code for this domain. You can enter the new code by clicking “Update authcode” under “Options”. This will restart the transfer. If you still get the “bad authcode” status after completing this step, contact Porkbun support.

domain status does not allow transfer or The transfer has been submitted and rejected too many times.

The status of your domain as listed in WHOIS is preventing the transfer from going through. Usually, it means the domain was not unlocked before the transfer, or the domain is less than 60 days old. Go to your old registrar and make sure the domain is unlocked. If it wasn't, unlock it, then log in to Porkbun, click "transfer" and then "update auth code" — it will do more than just update the auth code, it will actually resubmit the transfer.

pending owner confirmation | sent to hello@goosehollow.design

A transfer authorization email has been sent to the email listed for the registrant's contact. Be sure to check your inbox, including your spam folder. When you receive the email, follow the link inside to authorize the transfer. If you don’t have access to that email address, update the Administrative Contact information at your previous registrar. Then, return to Porkbun and go to the Transfer page. From there, select “requery whois” under “Options”.

pending owner confirmation | sending to hello@goosehollow.design

If you see “sending” instead of “sent” we haven’t sent it yet! Verification emails are often batched and sent every 20 minutes, so check back in a half-hour or so.

pending transfer request

This status shows when a transfer has first been initiated. It means that the transfer is queued up but has not been submitted yet.

pending whois query

This status should only last a few minutes. If your domain has this status for longer than 20 minutes, contact Porkbun support.

BILLINGHOLD1

If you see this rare status, contact Porkbun support. This may happen if the price of your domain has changed during the transfer process.

transfer complete

The transfer has completed successfully! You should be able to see your domain in Domain management within a few minutes.