Transferring an already registered domain entails switching the domain name registrar that handles the domain name registration service, so after the transfer, you will have to manage things like renewal fees or DNS updates through the new domain registrar. The transfer process itself is standard with most universal and country-specific Top-Level Domain extensions. Some country-code extensions are more specific and entail different procedures, but in the general case transferring a domain name involves several basic steps and one of them is unlocking the domain name. The domain lock is a safety feature, which is being adopted by more and more domain name registry operators. It’s a default feature supported by all generic Top-Level Domains. If a domain is locked, it will be impossible to initiate a transfer procedure, so nobody can even try to take your domain. The domain lock can be removed only through the account where the domain name is registered in the first place and all new domains that support this functionality are locked by default the moment they are registered.