✅ Good News
Domain transfers themselves don't touch email. Email is controlled by MX records in DNS. As long as your MX records stay correct, email keeps flowing.
How Email Works (Quick Primer)
When someone sends you email:
- Their email server looks up your domain's MX records
- MX records say "send mail to this server" (e.g., mail.google.com)
- Email gets delivered to that server
- You read it in Gmail, Outlook, or wherever
Key insight: Email doesn't care who your registrar is. It only cares about MX records.
When Email CAN Break During Transfer
❌ Scenario 1: MX Records Don't Transfer
Some registrar transfers don't automatically bring DNS records. If MX records get lost, email stops.
❌ Scenario 2: Using Registrar's Email Service
If you use GoDaddy's email hosting and leave GoDaddy, that email service may not follow your domain.
❌ Scenario 3: Changing Nameservers Wrong
If you change nameservers without recreating MX records at the new DNS provider, email breaks.
Pre-Transfer Checklist: Protect Your Email
Before You Transfer
- Screenshot/export your current DNS records — Especially MX, SPF, DKIM, DMARC
- Identify your email provider — Google Workspace? Microsoft 365? Registrar email?
- Note your MX record values — You'll need to recreate these
- Lower TTL to 300 seconds — 24 hours before transfer (speeds up changes)
- Test email is working — Send a test before starting
Common Email Providers & Their MX Records
Google Workspace / Gmail
Priority Server 1 ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM 5 ALT1.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM 5 ALT2.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM 10 ALT3.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM 10 ALT4.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM
Microsoft 365 / Outlook
Priority Server 0 yourdomain-com.mail.protection.outlook.com
The exact record is shown in your M365 admin panel.
Zoho Mail
Priority Server 10 mx.zoho.com 20 mx2.zoho.com 50 mx3.zoho.com
After Transfer: Verify Email Works
- Check MX records — Use mxtoolbox.com or dig to verify
- Send a test email to yourself
- Have someone external send you an email
- Check SPF/DKIM/DMARC — These affect deliverability
$ dig MX yourdomain.com +short
10 mx.zoho.com.
20 mx2.zoho.com.
Special Case: Registrar-Provided Email
If you use email hosting from your current registrar (e.g., GoDaddy email, Namecheap email):
- That email service is tied to your registration
- Transferring away may cancel that email
- You need to migrate email BEFORE transferring
Solution: Move to Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, or Zoho first. Update MX records. Verify email works. Then transfer the domain.
Zero-Downtime Transfer Summary
- Document all DNS records (especially MX)
- Use a third-party email provider (not registrar email)
- Lower TTL 24 hours before
- Transfer domain
- Verify/recreate MX records at new registrar
- Test email immediately