Disclaimer: This site is NOT responsible for any problems you experience when using this method of transferring domain names. Use at your own risk.

If you manage to close a deal with a third party to buy or sell a domain name, that's just the start of the process. Once the haggling is done, the work begins...

You'll need to agree on a way to get paid/pay for the domain name that both parties are comfortable with (this is outside the scope of this Insider)

Once you're ready to complete the transaction, and transfer the domain name ownership to its new owner, there are several ways of proceeding.

It used to be that you would need a document notarized by the buyer and seller, faxed back and forth between the parties before being sent to the Registrar of record (the Registrar currently maintaining the domain name registration). Indeed, this is still the official process for many Registrars.

You can get around this lengthy, relatively complex and sometimes costly process by instigating a transfer-with-ownership-change.

The scenario would proceed along the lines in this example:

1. The domain name belongs to John Smith, and is housed at Registrar A. It has been bought by Fred Brown

2. Fred Brown sets up a domain name transfer with a different registrar (Registrar B) and supplies his (the new owner's) details for the registration.

3. John Smith receives an email message that he must authenticate to complete the transfer.

4. John Smith responds to the email message, the transfer is complete and the domain name is now sitting on Registrar B's records, owned by Fred Brown.

In other words, the same process as for a change of registrar transfer is followed, except that instead of maintaining the same ownership record, the ownership details are changed during the transfer.

The above process will work as long as you can find a registrar that allows you to specify all details during a transfer, and as long as the domain name in question is protected using email authentication. Registrars.com is just one example of a registrar which has the capacity to support this kind of transaction.

The above process takes around 5 business days on average, and is totally free except for the cost of paying for at least a year's registration at the new Registrar (typically from $10 to $35). It is also "safe" in that the consent of both parties is required to complete the transaction, and it is confirmed by the existing domain owner.

Perfect this technique, and you can kiss paper trails and frequent visits to your Notary Public goodbye!