Recover your domain name

Updated on 4 October 2026 · by the Agence Web Premium team, Guéliz Marrakech

Direct answer: if your domain name is registered in the name of your former service provider, you do not own your web address. Recovery is possible in most cases: WHOIS verification, written request, then transfer. Allow five to fifteen days when the service provider cooperates.

This is one of the most common issues we see with new customers. Here is the complete procedure, step by step.

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How do I check who owns my domain?

In short: With a public WHOIS tool. Type in your domain and look at the titular field.

Many free WHOIS services are available online. Enter your domain name and review:

• The holder. It must be you or your company.
• The administrative contact. He is the one who authorizes transfers — the most important point.
• The registry office. The company the domain is registered with.
• The expiration date. Definitely worth watching.

For .ma domains, consultation goes through the national register. Some information may be hidden.

Can the service provider refuse to return it to me?

In short: Legally, if he is a holder, he owns the domain. In practice, a formal notice is almost always sufficient.

The situation is uncomfortable but rarely blocking. Arguments that work:

• The domain corresponds to your brand or business name. Use by a third party is questionable.
• You paid for the recording — keep the receipts.
• The reputation of the service provider is at stake: few professionals take the risk of public litigation.

In the vast majority of cases, a firm written request obtains the transfer within a few days.

What is the transfer procedure?

In short: Obtain the authorization code from the current holder, then initiate the transfer to the new registrar.

1. Request authorization code (also called EPP code or transfer code) to the current holder, in writing.
2. Verify that the domain is not locked. The holder must lift the transfer lock.
3. Open an account at a new registrar, in your name.
4. Start the transfer by providing the code.
5. Validate by email. A confirmation is sent to the administrative contact.
6. Wait five to seven days. Standard deadline imposed by the registers.

Important: a domain registered for less than sixty days cannot be transferred. This is a rule of the registers, not a blocking of the service provider.

What to do if the service provider cannot be reached?

In short: Contact the registrar directly with your proof of payment and then consider litigation.

If no response arrives after several written reminders:

1. Identify the registrar via WHOIS and contact their dispute department.
2. Gather your evidence: invoices, written exchanges, corporate documents showing that the domain matches your brand.
3. Send a formal notice by registered mail to the holder's address.
4. Dispute procedure. For generic domains, a UDRP procedure exists but costs several thousand dirhams.

Before incurring costs, compare: sometimes registering a new nearby domain and migrating the site is cheaper than a procedure.

Do you sometimes have to change domains?

In short: Yes, if recovery is expected to be long or costly. We lose part of the SEO, but we regain control.

Honest arbitration: If your current domain has little history and few inbound links, switching is less expensive than a legal battle.

If you change, the method: register the new domain, reproduce the site identically, inform your customers, update your Google profile, your social networks and your printed media.

You will lose some of the existing SEO – 20 to 50% depending on history – but you will regain control for good.

How can we prevent this from happening again?

In short: Register the domain yourself, in your name, with your email address, and only give delegated access to the service provider.

The rule is simple: the domain always registers in the customer's name. A service provider has no legitimate reason to hold it.

This is our systematic practice: domain name, hosting, Analytics, Search Console and Google listing are created with the customer's email address. We access by delegation, revocable at any time.

Also enable auto-renewal and monitor the expiration date: an expired domain can be repurchased by anyone in a few days.

Procedure depending on the situation

Estimates as of October 4, 2026.