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 Changing registrars is free and easy 

If you are paying more than $10 per year for your domain name (.com, .net, .org), perhaps you should consider changing registars.

Although each registrar handles the process slightly differently, the concept is the same - you just ask them to do it. Some registrars require you to fax or mail in a form you download from their site. Others use a simple web-based form. Either way, the process requires no technical knowledge and takes only a few minutes as the new registrar handles all the details of the transfer.

The process will typically take 7-10 days, because of the number of parties involved. Once your new registrar has submitted the transfer request, the old registrar must either accept or reject the transfer within 5 days. If the old registrar does not respond at all within the five-day period, the transfer is considered to have been approved and the domain name is transferred to the new registrar.

The old registrar can, however, deny the transfer. The most common reson, is the domain name owner has waited until the end of the registration period and the renewal fee is past due. If this happens to you, you’ll probably have to pay a renewal fee to the old registrar before transferring your domain.

 Rules 

• The domain name must have been registered for more than 60 days.
• The current admin contact’s email address must able to confirm the transfer request.
• Domain must not be "On-Hold" by the current registrar. This condition can exist for many reasons, including lack of payment or domain expiry. -The domain name has almost expired (Network Solutions will not release a domain that is about to expire within 10 days). I recommend changing registrars well before the expiry date. Now would be a good time.

 All you have to do... 

1. Make a transfer request for your domain. Visit the new registrar and look for a link saying "transfer"

2. Approve the transfer confirmation email sent to your domain's Admin contact email. You can look up which email is listed as your Admin contact by using WHOIS Lookup. If you or whoever else has access to this e-mail address doesn't respond to the confirmation e-mail and accept the transfer within 5 days (or they explicitly deny the transfer), the request is automatically cancelled.

Q. What if my admin e-mail is no longer valid?

A. You must contact the original registrar to request a change of the Admin contact e-mail address.

3. After you approved our transfer confirmation email, wait 2-3 days, look for a second email to confirm. This second email will be sent from your previous domain registration company to verify that you wanted to transfer away from them. It is very important that you look for and approve this email within 3 days, or your previous domain registration company
will cancel your transfer request.

4. IMPORTANT: If you do not complete steps #2 and #3 (approve both emails), the domain transfer can not be completed, and will be canceled.

5. Verify that 1 renew year has been added by checking your WHOIS record. If your transfer / renewal was successful, you should see 1 additional year added to the expiration date of your domain's whois record. The technical contact listed will usually be the new registrar, although it might have your details instead

Q. When will my domain name expire?

A. Look it up using the WHOIS tool - the expiry date will be listed.

Q. How many years will the transfer last?

A. Transfers can only be for one year initially, but you can extend the length at any time later.

 Transfer of ownership 

Some cheap domain registrars charge fees to transfer ownership, ie selling your domain name to someone else. Most people never do this, and if the domain is transferred as part of a business sale, these fees are relatively minor.

Some registrars refuse tranfers of ownership! So read the small print, if there is any chance you might want to sell the domain one day.

TotalNIC - $20 - won't let you change owners!

Letter sent to one of their customers:

Dear Mr Fxxxss,

For security reasons, it is contrary to TotalNIC policy to allow
transfers to other registrars because we are unable to verify that
it is indeed the owner or admin contact that has initiated the
transfer.

If you have any further queries, please do not hesitate to contact
us.

Thank you for using TotalNIC.

Bradley M. Pitt
Customer Support
TotalNIC Domain Registration Service