--- title: "Domain Escrow: How a Private Domain Sale Is Secured" description: "How domain escrow works step by step: funding, push or registrar transfer, the inspection period, who pays the fee, and what to verify before you accept." url: https://hunter.domains/blog/domain-escrow language: en --- # Domain Escrow: How a Private Domain Sale Is Secured How domain escrow works step by step: funding, push or registrar transfer, the inspection period, who pays the fee, and what to verify before you accept. 19 October 2026 8 min read Domain escrow is a neutral third party that holds the buyer's money until the domain is in the buyer's account, then pays the seller. You need it whenever you buy or sell a domain outside a platform that already collects the payment and moves the name itself: a deal struck by email, in a forum or through a for-sale page. Without it one side has to go first, and whoever goes first can lose. ## When a domain buyer needs escrow Registrar auctions such as GoDaddy Auctions, DropCatch or Dynadot charge your account and assign the domain themselves, so there is no separate escrow step. Marketplaces such as Sedo or Afternic handle payment and transfer inside their own process. Escrow is for everything else, in practice most aged-domain deals between two individuals. The [guide to where domains are sold](https://hunter.domains/blog/where-to-sell-domain-names) covers the channels; this article covers how the money and the name move once a price is agreed. ## The five documented steps of a domain name escrow Escrow.com publishes its domain name process on its own site, and other escrow providers follow the same shape: 1. **Agree terms.** Buyer and seller register, verify their identities and agree the transaction in the escrow system: the exact domain name or names, the price, who pays the fee, and the length of the inspection period. 2. **Buyer funds the escrow.** The buyer pays the escrow company, not the seller. Once the payment is verified and secured, the seller is told to deliver. 3. **Seller transfers the domain.** The seller pushes or transfers the domain to the buyer and marks it as delivered. Escrow.com also offers a concierge option that handles this step; check its conditions on their site. 4. **Buyer confirms receipt.** When the buyer confirms possession, or the escrow service confirms it through the public registration data, the inspection period begins. The buyer accepts if the terms are met. 5. **Funds are released.** When the buyer accepts, or the inspection period ends without a rejection, the escrow company pays the seller. The seller never delivers to an unfunded buyer; the buyer never pays a seller who has not delivered. ## How the domain is actually delivered: push or transfer Step three is where most delays happen. **A push (account change) within one registrar.** If both parties have accounts at the same registrar, the seller moves the domain from their account to the buyer's. Namecheap calls this Change Ownership and documents it as free, with the recipient approving through an email link that stays active for seven days; an expired domain cannot be moved until renewed, and the change is final once accepted. GoDaddy's account change asks for the recipient's account email and gives them ten days to accept, per its help page; a domain that has expired or is about to expire cannot be moved. A push is immediate once accepted and does not involve the 60-day rule described next, although some registrars apply a separate lock after a change of registrant contact. **A registrar transfer with an auth code.** If the buyer wants the domain at a different registrar, the seller unlocks it, obtains the authorization code and gives it to the buyer, who starts the transfer at the receiving registrar. Two constraints matter. A newly registered or newly transferred gTLD domain is typically locked against another registrar transfer for 60 days, so a domain the seller recently acquired may not be transferable yet. And a transfer takes days, so the inspection period must cover it. A push is the cleaner route: delivery is instant and verifiable, and the buyer can transfer out later. If the deal needs a transfer, agree in writing that "delivered" means the transfer has completed at the receiving registrar, not that the auth code was sent. ## The inspection period Escrow.com's published inspection period rules are the ones most domain buyers meet. The period can run from 1 to 30 calendar days and is agreed when the transaction is created. It starts when the buyer marks the domain as received or when the escrow service confirms delivery. If the buyer neither accepts nor rejects, the period ends automatically and the default is acceptance, so the funds go to the seller. A buyer who wants to reject must do so before the period ends. Match the length to the delivery method: a short period is enough for a push, while a registrar transfer needs a period that comfortably covers the transfer time. ## Escrow domain fees: who pays Escrow fees are tiered by transaction amount, differ by service level, and can be paid by the buyer, deducted from the seller's payout, or split as the two agree. Card and PayPal payments carry an extra processing charge. The figures change, so run the numbers in the provider's fee calculator at the time of the deal. The split is a negotiating point like the price itself. ## What to verify before funding, and before accepting Escrow protects you against a seller who does not deliver. It does not protect you against buying the wrong domain. Before you fund: - **Confirm the seller controls the name.** Ask them to add a TXT record you specify, then check it with the [DNS lookup](https://hunter.domains/tools/dns-lookup). Public WHOIS data is mostly redacted since 2018, so a name in an email signature proves nothing. - **Read the status codes and dates.** The [WHOIS/RDAP lookup](https://hunter.domains/tools/whois-lookup) shows the registrar, the expiry date and every status code. A `clientTransferProhibited` is normal and the seller can lift it; a `pendingDelete` or `redemptionPeriod` means the seller no longer holds a live registration and cannot deliver. The [domain status codes guide](https://hunter.domains/blog/domain-status-codes) explains the rest. - **Check the expiry date.** A domain that expires next week may be impossible to push and will need a renewal first. The [expiration checker](https://hunter.domains/tools/domain-expiration-checker) reads it from the registry. - **Check the history.** Escrow does not vet quality. Run the [domain checker](https://hunter.domains/domain-checker) for archive history, spam signals, blacklists and backlinks, and work through the [expired domain risks](https://hunter.domains/blog/risks-of-buying-expired-domains) before you agree a price. Before you accept inside the inspection period, confirm the domain is in your own account, that the expiry date and nameservers are what you expected, and that the name matches the agreement exactly (a hyphen, a different extension, a plural). ## Warning signs - **A request to pay outside escrow,** including "just a deposit" or a direct transfer to "save the fee". The point of escrow is that no money moves directly. - **A link to the escrow site sent by the other party.** Type the address yourself. Lookalike escrow pages exist for exactly this situation. - **A seller who refuses escrow for a meaningful amount.** There are honest reasons to prefer one provider; there is no honest reason to refuse all of them. - **Pressure to accept early.** The inspection period is yours. A seller who needs the funds before you can verify delivery is asking you to give up your only protection. ## After acceptance Once the funds are released, nothing reverses the deal, so do the housekeeping the same day. Renew if the expiry is near, put your own contact details on the registration, and check the status codes once more: a transfer or a change of registrant may have started a 60-day lock, which matters if you plan to move the domain again soon. Then point the nameservers where you want them and start the [flipping or rebuilding plan](https://hunter.domains/blog/domain-flipping-for-beginners) you bought the domain for. ## Frequently asked questions ### Who pays domain escrow fees? Whoever the two parties agree. The fee can be added to the buyer's payment, deducted from the seller's payout, or split. Fees are tiered by amount and differ by service level and payment method, so check the provider's fee calculator for the current figure before you agree the split. ### How long does domain escrow take? A push between accounts at the same registrar completes as soon as the recipient accepts; a registrar transfer takes days. On top of that comes the inspection period, agreed up front and anywhere from 1 to 30 days. Funds are released when the buyer accepts or the period runs out. ### Do I need escrow when buying on GoDaddy Auctions or Afternic? No separate escrow is used on registrar auction platforms, because the platform takes your payment and assigns the domain itself. Marketplaces such as [Afternic](https://hunter.domains/blog/what-is-afternic) and Sedo run payment and transfer inside their own process; read their terms for what they guarantee. Use independent escrow for deals negotiated directly with another person. ### What is a domain push? A push, also called an account change or change of ownership, moves a domain from one account to another at the same registrar. It is normally free, takes effect as soon as the recipient accepts, and needs no auth code because no registrar transfer happens. Registrars generally will not push an expired domain until it is renewed. Affiliate link Is the name you want still free? Type it in and we will open it in Spaceship search. If it is free, you can register it there right away. ## We find domains that meet these criteria every day Expired domains with a clean history and real authority, listed with a score; the ones matching your rule land in your inbox the moment they appear. [See today's catch](https://hunter.domains/domains) ## Related articles Lifecycle ### [How Long Does a Domain Transfer Take? A Buyer's Timeline](https://hunter.domains/blog/how-long-does-a-domain-transfer-take) How long a domain transfer takes, step by step: the five-day approval window, account pushes, and what stalls a transfer after you buy a domain. 13 October 2026 8 min read Investing ### [What Is Afternic? GoDaddy's Domain Marketplace Explained](https://hunter.domains/blog/what-is-afternic) Afternic is GoDaddy's marketplace for owner-listed domains. How it differs from GoDaddy Auctions, how Fast Transfer works and what its nameservers mean. 10 October 2026 8 min read Basics ### [The Risks of Buying Expired Domains (and How to Spot Them)](https://hunter.domains/blog/risks-of-buying-expired-domains) The real risks of buying expired domains: spam history, penalties, inflated metrics, trademarks and Google’s abuse policy, and how to detect each one. 3 October 2026 8 min read ## Don't miss the next good domain. Set your rule and leave the rest to us. You hear the moment a matching domain is found. 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