FAQ (13)

Last updated Aug 3, 2026 Below you will find answers to our most commonly asked questions. If you cannot find the answer you are looking for, refer to the community page ↗︎ to explore more resources.

Domain management

Can I use my own (third-party) nameservers

No, all domains on Cloudflare Registrar use Cloudflare nameservers, so that we can protect and speed up your content or services.

If you only need a subdomain to be on a different service provider, you can delegate a subdomain. Also, if you are on the Business or Enterprise plans, you have the option to set up custom nameservers, which means you will be using Cloudflare nameservers but with custom-branded nameserver names.

If you still need to use different nameservers, you will have to move your domain to another Registrar.

Why did my domain stop resolving or show a parked or suspension page, and I never got the verification email

If you registered your domain through Cloudflare Registrar, ICANN requires you to verify the registrant email address. If that email is unverified or the verification link expired, ICANN requires the registrar to place a hold on the domain and Cloudflare temporarily replaces your nameservers with parking nameservers, which is why the site stops resolving. Once you complete verification, your nameservers are automatically restored.

To fix it, verify your registrant email:

  1. Resend the verification email from your email verification settings.
  2. Check your spam and promotions folders.
  3. Confirm the registrant email on the domain is an address you can actually receive mail at (Manage Domains > your domain > Contacts). Refer to Registrant contact updates.

Keep your contact details accurate. ICANN rules allow a domain to be suspended or cancelled if the registrant information is invalid.

How can I update my contact information, and why am I asked to approve the change

You can update both your default contact information and any individual Registrant, Administrator, Technical, or Billing contact for your domain registrations by following Registrant contact updates. Details that may be updated include name, email, address, organization, and telephone number.

Most fields update immediately. However, if you change the first name, last name, organization, or email, ICANN treats it as a Change of Registrant: Cloudflare emails an approval link to the registrant and the change only applies once approved. If nobody approves or rejects within seven days, the request auto-cancels. When you change the email, both the old and new addresses must approve.

Note

Approving a Change of Registrant applies a 60-day transfer lock to the domain. If you do not want that, select Do not apply 60 day transfer lock before accepting.

Keeping your contact information accurate matters: ICANN allows a domain to be suspended or cancelled if the registrant information is invalid.

Domain transfers

How can I see the status of my domain transfer

Once you initiate a domain transfer, your previous registrar has five days to release the domain. In most cases, they will send you an email to confirm you want to transfer. If you actively acknowledge that email (through a link or the registrar's dashboard), they can process it immediately.

To see the progress of your transfer, go to the Transfer domains page in the Cloudflare dashboard to see a list of domain transfers that are in progress.

Go to Transfer domains ↗

To accelerate the process, be sure to check with your old registrar how you can approve the transfer out.

Once successful, you will receive an email from Cloudflare and be able to manage the domain in the dashboard under Overview of that site.

My transfer has been pending for several days. Is that normal

Some waiting is normal. Your previous registrar has up to five days to release the domain, so the single fastest thing you can do is log in to your old registrar and approve or accelerate the transfer out.

You cannot enter your auth code until the domain is first active on Cloudflare with a full setup. If the transfer failed rather than just pending, work through Registrar: troubleshoot stalled domain transfers.

Why did my transfer fail

Domain transfers sometimes fail. Refer to Registrar: troubleshoot stalled domain transfers for more information on what might have happened and how to solve the issue.

If you cannot solve the issue, open a support ticket or contact your account team.

Why am I not allowed to transfer my domain

ICANN prohibits domain transfers within 60 days of a change to the WHOIS data or registrar of a domain. If you modified your contact information, transferred registrars, or registered your domain in the last 60 days, Cloudflare will be unable to process your transfer immediately.

You can leave the domain In Progress and Cloudflare will wait until after the 60-day window passes to attempt to process the transfer. For the full list of transfer prerequisites, refer to Transfer your domain to Cloudflare.

Note

This 60-day rule does not apply to .uk domains. .us domains have extra requirements.

Why am I not able to start a transfer

If you have an unverified email address, you might experience issues when initiating a domain transfer.

What happens if I enter the wrong auth code

If you enter an incorrect auth code (also referred to as authentication code or authorization code), return to the Domain Registration page or the Overview for your site. You can use the available input field to reenter your authentication code.

What happens to my nameservers when I transfer my domain to Cloudflare

Cloudflare Registrar only supports transfers of domains that are active on a Cloudflare full setup. Domains on Cloudflare use nameservers assigned by Cloudflare to the associated account and those nameservers must remain in place for the domain to be Active.

Why didn't my domain's expiration date change after transferring it to Cloudflare

For most generic TLDs (.com, .net, .org, and similar), a transfer adds one year to your current expiration date. However, some TLDs do not add a year on transfer:

  • .uk and .nz domains: These country-code TLDs do not add an additional year during the transfer process.
  • Domains at or near the maximum term: ICANN-governed TLDs cap the registration term at 10 years. If your domain already has 10 years on the term, no additional year can be added. Some country-code TLDs have shorter caps (for example, .co has a 5-year cap), so transfers of those domains may also not add a year.

If none of the above apply and your expiration date still did not change, refer to My domain's registration was not extended by one year after transferring to Cloudflare for the 45-day renewal restriction.

If I registered my domain for 10 years at another registrar, will I gain another year if I transfer it to Cloudflare

No. A domain cannot have more than 10 years on the term. If you registered your domain for 10 years, you will get 10 years upon transferring it to Cloudflare.

How do I move a domain from one Cloudflare account to another

You can move a Cloudflare Registrar domain between accounts yourself when both the source and target accounts confirm. For full steps, refer to Move a Cloudflare Registrar domain registration between accounts.

Before you start, the domain must meet these conditions:

  • It was registered more than 10 days ago.
  • The registrant email is verified and there is no pending Change of Registrant request.
  • DNSSEC is turned off (you can re-enable it after the move).
  • The domain is not administratively locked and is not in redemptionPeriod, pendingDelete, or pendingTransfer.
  • You have added the domain as a website to the target account, selected a plan, and have the target account ID ready.

Submit the move from the Configuration tab of the Manage Domain page. The gaining account receives an email and must approve within five days or the request auto-cancels. All configuration and settings in the source account are lost, and the domain is transfer-locked for 30 days after the move.

Note

If the domain is registered elsewhere (not with Cloudflare Registrar), refer to Move a domain between Cloudflare accounts instead.

Domain registrations

I was charged for a domain but it is not showing in the dashboard. What happened

Domain registrations do not appear in the Active Subscriptions section, because Registrar is not subscription-based. Your domains live on the Domain management page. A new registration usually completes in about 30 seconds and sends a confirmation email.

If you were charged but still do not see the domain:

  • Check which account and email you used at checkout. The domain lands in the Cloudflare account you were logged into, and many people have more than one account. This is the most common cause.
  • Find the registration confirmation email.
  • A failed-then-retried checkout can leave a temporary authorization hold (not a completed charge). These typically drop off on their own.

If money left your account and the domain still is not in the correct account after a short wait, open a support ticket with the charge details and exact domain name so it can be reconciled.

My domain expired or a renewal failed. Can I still get it back

Usually yes, within a window. Cloudflare attempts auto-renew about 30 days before expiration and, if it fails, retries three more times before you must renew manually. A failed renewal is almost always a payment problem, so fix the card or billing profile and manually renew from the Domain management page (up to 10 years). Refer to Renew domains.

If the domain already expired, refer to What happens when a domain expires? for the grace, suspension, redemption, and pending delete lifecycle.

What happens when a domain expires

In summary, here is what will happen after a domain expires:

  • Day 0: Expiration Date.
  • Day 1 - 30: Grace Period (domain resolves normally).
  • Day 31 - 40: Suspension Period (domains resolves to suspension page).
  • Day 41 - 70: Redemption Period.
  • Day 71 - 75: Pending Delete Period.