Transferring an existing domain name entails changing the domain name registrar that handles the domain registration service, so after the transfer, you’ll have to manage things like renewal fees or DNS record updates through the new domain name registrar. The transfer procedure itself is standard with most domain name extensions. Certain country-code extensions are more specific and involve different procedures, but in the general case transferring a domain involves a few necessary steps and one of them is unlocking the domain. The lock is a security option, which is being adopted by more and more domain registry operators. It’s a standard feature supported by all generic Top-Level Domains. If a domain is locked, it will not be possible to start a transfer process, so nobody can even try to snatch your domain name. The lock can be annulled only through the account where the domain name is registered and all new domains that support this functionality are locked by default when they are registered.