Why is my domain name locked?

When Vivid Image registers a new domain name or becomes the registrar of an existing domain, name we automatically lock the domain name. Domain name locking prevents a user from changing the name servers and other registrars from contacting you and attempting to have you initiate a transfer of your domain name to their company. This is done to protect you, the customer.

If a domain name is unlocked there are a few things that could happen:

1. Your domain name could get moved to a different registrar, requiring you to work with a second company for your website (which will cause you to pay additional fees to renew your domain name.)
2. Your domain name could expire if you are not aware that you need to renew with a different registrar (which will cause your website to load incorrectly and cause you to pay additional fees to recover the domain name.)
3. Your name servers could get changed (which will cause your domain name to resolve to your website incorrectly.)

There are times when you will need to have your domain name unlocked:

1. If your account is configured as a Domain Name Registration account, and you need to change the name servers of the domain name.
2. You are hosting DNS for your hosting account with us yourself, and you need to change the name servers.

When a situation arises that you need your domain name unlocked, you can simply contact us and we will work with you to fulfill your request the safest way possible. Typically, this involves unlocking the domain name temporarily and then re-locking the domain name once the change has been made.