Transferring an existing domain entails switching the registrar company 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 registrar. The transfer process is standard with most domain name extensions. Some country-code extensions are more specific and involve different procedures, but in the general case transferring a domain entails several necessary steps and one of them is unlocking the domain name. The lock is a security feature, which is being embraced by more and more domain name registry operators. It is a standard feature supported by all generic Top-Level Domains. If a domain name is locked, it will not be possible to start a transfer process, so no one can even attempt to register your domain name. The lock can be annulled only through the account where the domain is registered and all new domains that support this option are locked by default the moment they are registered.