Question
I have a domain expiring in 10 days and I want to transfer it to my new hosting provider. However, I don’t have access to the contact email address on record, no-reply@…example.com…
Can I just update the contact information and transfer it?
Answer
No, you can’t. If you update contact details your DNS provider might put your domain in a transfer lock for 60 days. That will mean you have to pay the old provider for renewal, and then when you eventually transfer it, pay again. You do get two extra years on the domain name, but will end up with two bills also.
Instead, you can disable transfer locks.
Here are the instructions for one provider:
You can temporarily disable the Transfer Lock by navigating to My Account>Account Settings>Defaults>Default Options>Domain Purchase Options>Transfer Lock. There you would uncheck “Enable 60-day transfer lock when domain contact info is updated” and save changes before making the Registrant Contact updates. Please be sure to re-enable once the desired updates have been made. Please let us know if you need anything else.
Reference
Customer support email reply from a DNS provider