Every step below is from an official source
Switch from Hover to Squarespace Domains
What to do at Hover before you leave, what Squarespace Domains needs when you join, and everything else the switch touches. Your full plan is built in your browser and stays there.
Official sources reviewed . How we review sources
The rules that apply: ICANN
These apply whichever domain registrar you're moving between.
Get the authorization (AuthInfo) code from your registrarBefore
You need an Auth-Code, also called an AuthInfo or transfer code, to move a domain to another registrar. Your registrar must give it to you within five calendar days of your request, or may let you generate it yourself online.
FAQs for registrants: transferring your domain nameICANN. ReviewedCheck the 60-day limits before you request a transferBefore
Under the current Transfer Policy, your registrar may deny a transfer within 60 days of the domain's creation or within 60 days after a previous transfer. After a change of registrant it must apply a 60-day transfer lock, but it may let you opt out beforehand.
Transfer PolicyICANN. ReviewedAsk your current registrar to remove the transfer lockBefore
When you ask, your current registrar must remove the lock, or give you a reasonable way to remove it yourself, within five calendar days. It may deny a transfer only in specific cases listed in the policy, such as evidence of fraud.
Transfer PolicyICANN. ReviewedExpect one year added to your registrationAfter
A completed transfer adds one year to the existing registration. The total unexpired term can never be more than ten years.
Transfer PolicyICANN. ReviewedNote ICANN has adopted new transfer rulesBefore
On 7 June 2026 the ICANN Board adopted the Transfer Policy Review recommendations and directed ICANN to implement them, subject to prioritization. The resolution does not give an effective date.
Approved ResolutionsICANN. ReviewedExpect the post-registration and post-transfer lock to become 30 daysBefore
The new recommendations require registrars to block transfers to a new registrar for 720 hours (30 days) after initial registration and after a completed transfer. They also remove the 60-day lock after a change of registrant.
At Hover, before you leave
Set up DNS elsewhere before starting the transferBefore
If the domain uses Hover's nameservers, set up your DNS records with the new provider first. Nameservers cannot be changed once a transfer is in progress.
Transferring Your Domain Away From HoverHover. ReviewedMove Hover email before the domain leavesBefore
Hover disconnects email service once the domain transfers away. Back up your email, set up a new provider, update DNS records, and reconfigure mail clients before you start.
Transferring Your Domain Away From HoverHover. ReviewedTurn off the transfer lock and get the codeBefore
In the Hover control panel, turn off the domain's transfer lock and retrieve its authorization code for your new registrar. Hover says new registrations and transfers carry a 60-day lock.
Transferring Your Domain Away From HoverHover. ReviewedConfirm your contact emails can receive mailDuring
Make sure the Admin and Owner contact email addresses are valid and reachable. Watch for a transfer-away email sent to the Owner's contact address.
Transferring Your Domain Away From HoverHover. Reviewed
At Squarespace Domains, when you join
Start the transfer in your Domains panelBefore
Start the transfer from the Domains panel of your Squarespace site.
Transfer a domain to a Squarespace siteSquarespace. ReviewedUnlock the domain and get an authorization codeBefore
The domain cannot transfer while locked, so unlock it and get an authorization code from your current provider. The domain must have been with that provider for at least 60 days.
Transfer a domain to a Squarespace siteSquarespace. ReviewedLeave MX records in place during the transferDuring
During the transfer, the DNS Settings panel only shows MX, TXT, A, CNAME, and SRV records. Leave the MX records for a custom email address in place, and add any missing records after the transfer finishes.
Transfer a domain to a Squarespace siteSquarespace. ReviewedContact your provider if pending after 15 daysDuring
If the transfer is still pending after 15 days and you followed all the steps, contact your current provider. The transfer adds one year to your registration.
Transfer a domain to a Squarespace siteSquarespace. Reviewed
Then: everything else the switch affects
The steps above are what Hover and Squarespace Domains say. Your full checklist adds the accounts, codes, payments and devices that depend on your domain registrar, in a safe order. It's built from your answers, in your browser.