Learn how to transfer an active Cloudflare domain to another Cloudflare account.
Overview
Moving or transferring domains from one Cloudflare account to another is required if:
- you receive a "Cloudflare is already hosting under a different account" error, or
- you lose access to your email address or Cloudflare account
However, if you have two-factor authentication (2FA) enabled and access to backup codes, those codes can be used to access your Cloudflare account.
To successfully transfer a domain from one Cloudflare account to another you will need access to:
- your domain registrar, and
- at least one of the Cloudflare accounts associated with the domain.
Before getting started
Before attempting to transfer an active Cloudflare domain to another Cloudflare account, you must remove any DNSSEC configurations.
You will need to contact Cloudflare support to move your domain:
- if you are using a European domain registrar. Certain European registrars have a different nameserver registration process. You may experience problems if you try to update your nameservers on your own.
- if Cloudflare is not your authoritative DNS provider, i.e., your nameservers do not point to Cloudflare, as moving domains requires changing your domain nameservers.
Transfer your domain
If you lose access to the email address associated with your Cloudflare account and do not have backup codes, you will need to transfer your domain to a new Cloudflare account.
For example, if you register the domain, myzone.com using test@example.com and lose access to that email account. You will need to create a new Cloudflare account using your new email address, test1@example.com and add myzone.com to the new account.
The domain transfer process depends on your DNS settings. If Cloudflare is your authoritative DNS provider, i.e., your domain nameservers point to Cloudflare, you must:
- Create a new Cloudflare account or log in to your existing Cloudflare account.
- Log in to your domain registrar and update your domain nameservers with the nameservers listed in the new account.
If you have access to your existing/old account, you can transfer the Cloudflare account settings manually along with the domain. If you do not have access to your existing/old Cloudflare account and settings, reissuing SSL/TLS certificates is required as well as recreating and validating DNS records.
In seven (7) days, the domain status in the existing account will change to ‘Status: Moved Away’ and the domain status in the new account will change to ‘Status: Active’. After 30 days, Cloudflare will purge the domain in the original/old account.
For example, the Cloudflare account associated with test@example.com’s status will change to Moved Away, while the new account associated with test1@example.com’s status will change to Active. The test@example.com account will be purged after 30 days.