How to get control of your business domain back

To get control of your domain back, find out which registrar holds it and whose account it sits in, then ask the account holder to move it into an account your company controls. If they cannot or will not, the registrar's ownership recovery process usually works when the registrant details name your company. If someone else is named as the registrant, you need their cooperation, a formal dispute, or a lawyer. If the domain has already expired, stop reading and call the registrar today: the window to recover it at a normal price is short.

This is one of the most common problems we see when a business moves its website to us. The domain was registered years ago by an agency, a freelancer or an employee who has since left, and nobody now has the login. The steps below are the order we follow.

Who actually controls your domain right now?

Four separate things decide who controls a domain, and they are often held by different people:

The registrant is the one that matters legally. The account holder is the one that matters in practice, because only they can click the buttons. A domain where your company is the registrant but a former employee holds the account is recoverable. A domain where a former agency is the registrant is harder.

The public lookup also shows the expiry date. For country extensions such as .in, the registry's own lookup may show more than ICANN's. When we take on a site for website care and maintenance, this lookup is the first thing we run, before we touch the site itself.

What if the domain has already expired?

For .com and other generic extensions, an expired domain passes through stages, and each one makes recovery harder and dearer:

ICANN's Expired Registration Recovery Policy sets the minimum rules registrars must follow, including the restore window. Country extensions set their own timelines, so ask the registrar for theirs.

If the domain is in the grace period and in someone else's account, a renewal paid by anyone with the login keeps it alive. Get it renewed first, then argue about whose account it belongs in.

How do you ask for it back?

Copy every DNS record first. Export the zone if the DNS host allows it, or take screenshots of every record: the A and CNAME records for the website, the MX records for email, and every TXT record, including SPF, DKIM, DMARC and verification codes. If the old registrar also hosts your DNS, those records can disappear when the domain leaves, and email stops with them. DNS explained for business owners covers what each record does.

Then ask the account holder, in writing, for one of two things:

1. An internal move to your account at the same registrar. Most registrars call this a push or an account change. It is instant, keeps the expiry date, and does not touch DNS.
2. A transfer to your own registrar. They remove the registrar lock and send you the transfer code, which registrars call the auth code, EPP code or transfer authorisation code. You start the transfer at your registrar and pay for a year's renewal, which is added to the existing expiry date.

Be specific about the domain, the registrant name you want, and a date. Agencies and former staff usually cooperate when the request is clear and polite. The delays come from vague requests and from nobody remembering the login.

Two timing rules to know. Under ICANN's transfer rules as of October 2026, a registrar may refuse a transfer to another registrar within 60 days of the domain's registration or a previous transfer, and many registrars apply a similar lock after the registrant's details change. ICANN approved revisions to these rules in 2026, so check the registrar's current terms. An internal move between accounts is not affected.

What if they will not or cannot help?

The route depends on whose name is on the registration.

Your company is the registrant, but the account is someone else's. Contact the registrar's support and ask for their ownership or account recovery process. Expect to provide the company's registration certificate, ID for a director, proof of address matching the registrant record, and sometimes a letter on company letterhead. Registrars handle these cases regularly. It takes days to a few weeks.

A former employee registered it in their own name. Ask them first; most will sign it over. If they refuse, the domain is theirs on paper even if the company paid, and you will need a lawyer to resolve it under employment or contract law.

The agency is the registrant and has closed down or stopped replying. Send the request to every address you have, keep records, and then contact the registrar with your contract and invoices. Registrars will not usually act against the registrant of record without a court order or a dispute decision.

Someone unrelated now holds it. Your options are to buy it, or to file a complaint under a dispute policy such as the UDRP for generic extensions or the INDRP for .in, which require trademark rights and bad faith by the holder. Both take time and fees. Take legal advice before filing; buying the domain back is often faster and cheaper.

How do you stop this happening again?

Once the domain is in an account you control, take ten minutes to set it up so it cannot drift away again:

• Registrant is the company, with a role email address such as domains@ that survives staff changes.
• Two-factor authentication on, with a long unique password from the password generator stored in the company password manager.
• Auto-renew on, with a company card that will not expire this year. Renewing for several years at once removes one annual chance to fail.
• Registrar lock on, so nobody can start a transfer without first turning the lock off.
• Your agency added as a user, not as the account owner, if the registrar supports delegated access.

Who owns your website covers the same check for hosting, code and the accounts around the site. A domain needs attention about once a year, and the website maintenance guide puts that renewal check into a routine so it is never left to memory.