What If My Web Designer Owns My Domain?

Quick answer

Who has the say over your website address?

Your website address (your domain, like smithplumbing.co.uk) is registered to one person or business. That's who has the say over it: who can renew it, move it or change where it points. If your old web designer bought it for you, it may be registered to them, not you, even if you paid for it.

The good news: it can usually be sorted, and it doesn't have to hold anything up.

Check who the domain is registered to, and when it's due for renewal.
Ask your old designer, in writing, to move it into your name and your own account.
If they don't reply, go to the company the domain is registered with.
Meanwhile, your new website can be built and checked on a temporary address.
Keep your email working: nothing about the domain gets changed until every setting is copied.

The jargon

The words you'll come across, in plain English.

Domain: your website address, like smithplumbing.co.uk. Your email address uses it too.
Registrant: the person or business the domain is registered to. They have the say over it.
Registrar: the company the domain is registered with, like GoDaddy or 123 Reg. You pay them to keep it each year.
Reseller: someone, often a web designer, who buys domains through a registrar for their customers.
Renewal date: when the domain must be paid for again. Miss it and you can lose the domain.
DNS: the settings that tell the internet where your website and email live.
MX records: the DNS settings that deliver your email. Delete them and your email stops arriving.
Transfer code: a password for moving a domain to a different registrar. You may also hear it called an auth code or EPP code.
Lookup: a free public search that shows a domain's registrar and dates. It's sometimes called WHOIS.

Check who controls it

How do I check who controls my domain?

Look it up for free. For an address ending .uk or .co.uk, use Nominet's lookup . For .com and most others, use ICANN Lookup . Both show which registrar it's with and when it expires.
Don't worry if your name isn't shown. For .uk domains, the registrant's name and address are hidden from the lookup by default, so a lookup alone won't always tell you who it's registered to.
Search your emails for the registrar's name, and for renewal invoices. If renewal emails come to you, you may already have your own account.
Ask your designer, in writing: who is the domain registered to, which registrar and account is it in, and when is it due for renewal?
Write down the renewal date. If it's soon, that's your first priority, so it doesn't run out while this is being sorted.

Getting it moved

How do I get the domain moved into my name?

Ask your old designer to move it into your name and your own account at the registrar. Keep it friendly and in writing (email is fine), and give a date. Most designers are happy to help: it's often just how they set things up years ago.

Ask them for one of these:

A change of registrant to you, and the domain moved into a registrar account in your name. For .uk domains, the registrant can only be changed through the registrar's registrant transfer process.
Or the transfer code, if you're moving it to a different registrar. For .com and similar domains, the registrar has to give the registrant this code within 5 days of asking.

Good to know for .com and similar: after the registrant's name changes, the domain usually can't move to another registrar for 60 days. For .uk: from 9 February 2027, moves between registrars will use a transfer code that lasts up to 14 days.

Once it's in your name, follow how to buy your domain and give us access to switch on 2 step sign in and give your web person access without sharing your password.

If they don't reply

What if my old web designer stops replying?

Check the renewal date first. If it lapses, the domain can be suspended and then lost. For .uk domains, it's suspended about 30 days after it expires and released about 95 days after.
Contact the registrar. Explain the situation and send what you have: invoices showing you paid for it, emails with your designer, and your business details. Ask what they need from you. They'll usually only act for the registrant, so if that's your designer, they may not be able to do much without them.
For .com and similar: ICANN, which oversees these domains, can't hand a domain back to you itself. If a registrar wrongly refuses a transfer you're entitled to, you can make a transfer complaint to ICANN.
For .uk: there's a dispute service for when someone else holds a domain that matches your business name unfairly. Since 7 July 2026, it's run for Nominet by WIPO (the World Intellectual Property Organization). It starts with mediation. If that doesn't settle it, an expert's decision costs £750, or £200 for a shorter decision if the other side never replied.
Get proper advice before a dispute. A solicitor can tell you if it's worth it for your case. Don't threaten your old designer: it rarely helps.

Build the site anyway

Can my new website be built before this is sorted?

Yes. Your website doesn't live inside your domain. It lives on hosting, and the domain just points people to it. So a new website can be built and checked on a temporary address first, and the domain pointed at it at the end.

That means a domain problem doesn't have to hold up your new website. The only step that waits is the very last one: switching your address over.

Your email

How do I keep my email and old website working?

If your email address uses your domain (like hello@smithplumbing.co.uk), your email depends on the domain's DNS settings. Change those carelessly and your email can stop arriving, without any warning.

Copy every DNS setting first. Before anything moves, get a full list or screenshot of every record: especially the MX records (email) and TXT records (which help your email get delivered and not land in junk).
Find out where your email lives. If it's with Google, Microsoft or similar in your own account, it carries on as long as the settings are copied. If it's on your old designer's own hosting, save a copy of your emails and contacts now.
Keep the old website up until the new one is live, so customers never hit a blank page.
Change one thing at a time, then send yourself a test email and check the website before the next step.

For more, see business email: why and how to set it up and moving to a new website provider.

Your old website

What about the words and pictures on my old website?

The domain is one thing. The old website itself is another. Unless you agreed otherwise in writing, the person who made a design, the words or the photos usually owns the copyright in them, not you as the customer, even though you paid.

So don't copy your old site across without checking. Your own photos of your own jobs are yours. Anything your designer wrote or designed, ask first, or have it written fresh.

A new domain

When is a brand new domain the sensible fallback?

Sometimes getting the old domain back costs more time, money or stress than it's worth. A new domain can be the sensible choice when:

Your old designer has gone, and the registrar can't help.
A dispute would cost more than the domain is worth to you.
The old address was never really known by your customers.

Before you decide, think about what uses the old address: your van, cards, quotes, Google Business Profile and your email address. All of those need changing.

Buy the new domain in your own name and account. See how to choose the right domain name and how to buy your domain.
Point your Google Business Profile and directory listings to the new address.
Change your email address, and tell your regular customers.
Update your van, cards and paperwork as they're due.
Keep an eye on the old domain. If it's never renewed, it's released and you may be able to register it yourself later.

Next time

How do I stop this happening again?

Domain registered in your name, in your own account, with your own email address.
Automatic renewal on, with a card that won't expire soon.
2 step sign in switched on.
Your web person gets access to manage it, never your password or the domain in their name.
Keep a note of the registrar, the login email and the renewal date with your other business records.

Sources

Where this guide comes from.

Checked against these on 27/10/2026. Rules and fees can change, so check the official page before you act, and ask a solicitor before starting a dispute.

FAQs

Frequently asked questions.

I paid for my domain. Doesn't that make it mine?

Not on its own. The person it's registered to has the say over it. Paying helps show it was meant for your business, so keep your invoices.

Can my web designer stop my email working?

Whoever controls the domain controls its settings, including the ones that deliver your email. That's why it's worth getting the domain into your own name, even if you're on good terms.

How long does it take to get a domain back?

If your old designer helps, it can be quick. If they don't reply, it depends on the registrar, and a dispute takes longer. Meanwhile, your new website can be built on a temporary address.

Should I just let the old domain expire and buy it again?

Risky. Once it's released, anyone can register it. Only rely on this if you're happy to lose it.

Stuck with a domain you can't move?

We can build your new website while you sort it.

Tell us what you know about your domain when you apply. We'll check it with you and build on a temporary address until it's yours.

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