How to transfer a domain to Porkbun with little to no DNS downtime

If you're transferring your domain to Porkbun and are worried about downtime or disruption in service, you're in the right place! There are a couple of solutions, and we'll go over them in this guide. This process can seem intimidating at first, but we'll make it easy on you. Read on!

Do I even need to do this?

That's the right question to ask first! In some situations, you don't need to do any extra steps, and your domain will transfer over and continue working normally. This is because when you transfer a domain to Porkbun, the currently assigned nameservers will automatically transfer over with the domain name itself.

If you are using nameservers that will continue to work after the transfer (such as nameservers given by your web hosting provider or a third-party DNS provider), you can transfer your domain to Porkbun and everything will continue working normally.

If you are instead using nameservers that will NOT continue to work after the transfer (such as nameservers provided by your current domain registrar), you will need to follow this guide if you want to transfer everything over without downtime.

You can use this chart to determine whether or not you need to follow the rest of this guide.

If you're unsure about your particular domain's nameservers, you can always ask your current registrar (or Porkbun's support team) for clarification. The rest of this guide will show you how to transfer your domain without downtime. Let's get started!

Method 1: Rebuild the DNS zone on Porkbun before transferring (recommended)

1
Ensure your domain is locked at your current registrar before proceeding. This will allow you to set everything up without worrying about the transfer completing before you're finished.
2
Purchase your transfer with Porkbun. For instructions on how to do so, check out this article on general transfers. You can also find guides for specific registrars in our Knowledge Base.

Note

Our transfer guides will instruct you to unlock your domain. Ignore that step for now, and make sure your domain is locked before purchasing the transfer.

3
On the Transfer page, enter your domain name. You will see a field where you can enter an authorization code. Your current registrar may not have given you a code yet since your domain is still locked. In that case, enter a fake/invalid authorization code for now. We will update this with a valid code later on.
Click the "Submit" button, and then proceed normally with purchasing the transfer.

4
Once you've purchased the transfer, return to the Transfers page on your account, by going to porkbun.com/account/transfers or navigating from your account's Domain Management page. On the Transfers page, click on the gear icon under the "DNS" column next to your domain name.

5
You will see the "MANAGE DNS RECORDS" menu for your domain. Rebuild the DNS zone for your domain. In other words, copy over the existing DNS records from your current registrar, and ensure they're all added to the domain on Porkbun. You can do this one record at a time, or you can import a BIND zone file that contains all of your current records.
For more info on how to format DNS records and add them to Porkbun correctly, check out this guide.
Here's an example of what a DNS zone might look like after copying everything over. Yours will look a bit (or a lot) different:

6
Double check that your records were added successfully, and that everything is formatted exactly how you have it set up with your current registrar. Once you've rebuilt the DNS records on Porkbun, you can close out of the MANAGE DNS RECORDS menu.
7
Next, you will need to update the domain's DNS nameservers at your current registrar. Since you've set up the DNS records on Porkbun already, you can do this without worrying about taking things offline. Change your domain's DNS nameservers to the following set of Porkbun's default nameservers:
  • curitiba.ns.porkbun.com
  • fortaleza.ns.porkbun.com
  • maceio.ns.porkbun.com
  • salvador.ns.porkbun.com
8
Porkbun is now hosting the DNS zone for your domain ahead of the transfer! If you want to be absolutely 100% sure that there's no downtime, wait 24-48 hours before following the next steps, to ensure the nameservers have fully updated and applied to your domain.
9
Finish the standard domain transfer process. Unlock the domain at your current registrar and retrieve the authorization code. Once you've done that, navigate back to the Transfers page on Porkbun. Enter your domain's actual authorization code that your registrar gave you, and then click on the "resubmit with this auth code" button.

10
Check back on the status of the transfer in the next 15-30 minutes. If the domain is unlocked and your authorization code is valid, you should now see the "pending transfer from losing registrar" status applied to it. You can review this guide for more information on transfer statuses.

Success! You've set up the DNS zone for your domain on Porkbun ahead of time, and it will now transfer over without things going offline since we're already managing the DNS.

Domain transfers typically take about 5-6 days to complete, unless your current registrar can expedite that process for you. We recommend reaching out to them directly to ask for help with speeding up your transfer.

Take a break. Sip from the trough. Roll around in some mud. Go ahead, you deserve it!

Method 2: Add your domain as an external domain

This method works similarly to the first one. We have a dedicated guide that explains how to add an external domain to your account. Once you've done that, you can set up the DNS zone for the domain prior to the transfer, then everything will safely move over without any downtime. We typically recommend the first method to keep things simplified, but this one works too, especially if you don't want to purchase the transfer quite yet.

Feel free to reach out to our Support team if you need any assistance.

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