New domain transfer rules??? Help!

[polarmate]

I am trying to consolidate all the domains for a nonprofit I am working with into a single account with one registrar. I ran into this:
Transfer from another Registrar:
In order for your domain to be transferred you must provide us with the information necessary to prove your eligibility for the domain name.

In addition, you must obtain from your current registrar the Domain Password/Registry Key for your domain name. If you do not have this you cannot continue with the process

Domain Name: whateverdomain.org
Domain Password/Registry Key:
I've never seen this before but I figured this might be as a result of the changes implemented by ICANN last year about allowing transfers without the domain owner/current registrar giving their explicit consent.

The domain I am trying to transfer is with a tucows reseller who has refused to give me this information as he believes it will compromise his records. The folks at the nonprofit have no clue and their current registrar is also their current web host. I am also moving the web site for this domain off his servers to our new server.

I tried it with another registrar and this is what I got there:
Domain to transfer: whatever.org

Enter the username and password for your account with this registrar:
Username:
Password:

In order for us to initiate a domain name registration transfer process for you, we need the password assigned to you by your current domain name registrar. Without this password, the request will be rejected by your registrar. If you do not know your user name or password, contact your current registrar.
Has anyone here encountered this lately?

Is this domain password the same as the password to the account with the current registrar or is it something else that the current registrar supplies?

Any help/insight will be much appreciated!!

[srikanthsh]

I dont know actually. But it can be some key/password that was assigned for the domain name by tucows. May be these new guys need that to get control on the domain name.

[polarmate]

No, it's not a tucows specific thing. Here's what I found on NetSol:
http://customersupport.networksolutions.com/article.php?id=161
An authorization code (also referred to as an auth code or an EPP code) provides an extra level of security for the domain name registration. The authorization code is unique for each domain name and is assigned by the registrar at the time the domain name is registered.

A confirmation of your authorization code is required by the Registry in order to transfer a domain name with the extension .us, .org, .info, or .biz, to Network Solutions.

When completing a manual Change of Registrar Request form, you will need to provide the authorization code to Network Solutions. Authorization codes must be recovered from your current registrar prior to initiating the domain name transfer request.

Please contact your current registrar to request your authorization code.
The Domain Password/ Registry Key is required only for .org, .biz, .info or .us domains. This is the first time I am trying to transfer a .org domain, therefore I was clueless. The same probably holds true for the current registrar. He just wrote back to me saying he hasn't received a transfer request yet. And how would he? He has to part with information first, like maybe access to the account itself? This is turning into an unnecessary nightmare.

[polarmate]

Got further confirmation:

Q: How do I transfer my domain name?
A: This process varies by TLD (Top Level Domain - .com/.net/.org/.biz/.us/.info/etc). The domain MUST be unlocked in any case. For .com/.net/.cc domains there is a loose process in place where the registrar requests a transfer to another registrar for a domain name. The domain name in question then needs to be authorized by the administrative contact on the domain name (this process varies from registrar to registrar). For many other TLDs the EPP (Extensible Provisioning Protocol) process is used where an authorization key is provided with the transfer request. The entire process is seamless and fast. The transfer requires nothing more than the key, the administrative contact will not be contacted.

http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?threadid=232391

Ugh to what lies ahead of me...

[WebSavvy]

Manisha, I ran into that when I had domains with NelSol and with nic.cc.

NetSol makes you validate a transfer request by replying to an email. It took them two years to register my stinking nameservers. They are the biggest joke as far as registrar's go.

I moved every domain I have over to whois-register.com and it went off without a hitch. The domains from NetSol went there, and the nameservers they were dragging their feet on for two years, were registered at whois-register in less than 5 minutes.

I tired for 18 months to transfer websavvy.cc away from nic.cc because they're as inept as NetSol. I was given the same BS messages you've been given by TuCows resellers, and a few other places. I was able to transfer websavvy.cc to whois-register.com at the same time I moved all my other domains away from NetSol.

Also, whois-register is cheap. It's only $8.45 to renew a domain name, and they have auto-renew. I have .biz names there, .com names there, .net & .org, and .cc, and even a few .info's.

You can't go wrong with whois-register.com as far as I am concerned!

[polarmate]

These rules have come about mainly cos of NetSol hanging on to domains. The email they used to send out to which you had to reply had the request buried deep in the email. The subject had nothing to do with "transfer" and most people just deleted it without reading beyond the first screenful. I ran into that with one of my domains in 2000. And then I couldn't transfer it cos it expired by the time I figured out what was going on. So I had to shell out another $35 to NetSol and transfer it after that.

Now it's the small time registrars who are holding on to the domains. You can't transfer a domain if it is locked. With smaller resellers, you have to get *them* to unlock the domain. Stinks. This whole business stinks.

[WebSavvy]

Does the smaller domain reseller that you're though, give you a web panel where you're able to go in and update your nameservers (like when moving to a new web host)?

If they have an area where you're able to update any information, you can unlock the domain from there. PM me and I'll see if there's something I can do to help.

[polarmate]

That's what I am trying to get hold of through the admin folks at the nonprofit. Maybe there wll be a clue in there. For the most part, these people don't understand that domain registration is different from web site hosting cos the same guy did everything for them. He's not willing to give me info and I can see why - I am taking away the domain as well as the web hosting account. :mad:

[Connie]

That was the way it used to work years ago, but I'm not sure that legal anymore. You all mentioned NetSol. I'm thinking about registration.net (think thats the right name)

I've transfered a few names over the last couple of years and all I had to do was provide the new register with the admin e-mail address at the previous register. Then you get a notification by e-mail that a change has been requested and you have 5 days ( I think) to contest the change. If you do nothing the transfer takes place.

[WebSavvy]

Some of them though, if you do nothing, the transfer stops there. Netsol (NetworkSolutions) is famous for that.

Hopefully you'll be able to get things straightened out, Manisha.