The domain name jscert.org expired 21st June 2016. It currently has the statuses ok and autoRenewPeriod. WHOIS Info
UK-2's control panel gives an error message when requesting the EPP (AuthInfo) code. UK-2 have stated that:
The domain jscert.org will need to be renewed before it would be able to be transferred to a new registrar. You can renew it within your account icon in chi.midphase.com. Once that is done you can go to the domains tab on the left hand side. In there is a transfer tab at the top of the page. Click on that and unlock the domain and send the EPP code for the domain to your email. Once you do that you can contact the registrar that you want to send the domain too and request for the transfer to be made.
The ICANN Domain Name Holder FAQ states:
My domain name has just expired. Can my registrar require me to pay for a renewal before I can transfer to a new registrar?
No. Your new registrar of choice can initiate a transfer request on an expired domain name once they receive the required authorization from you. Expiration or nonrenewal of a domain name is not a valid reason for denial of a transfer request. Note that if the registrar has already begun the deletion process on the domain name and its status shows it to be within a 30-day Redemption Grace Period, the name must be restored by your current registrar before it can be transferred.
This implies that transfer is permitted between expiry and entering the Redemption grace period (i.e: in the Auto-renew grace period)
The current ICANN Policy on Transfer of Registrations between Registrars states:
- Requirements for the "ClientTransferProhibited" Status and "AuthInfo" Codes Subject to ICANN specifications or policies and any applicable laws or regulations, Registrars must follow the requirements set forth below. ... Registrars must provide the Registered Name Holder with the unique "AuthInfo" code and remove the "ClientTransferProhibited" within five (5) calendar days of the Registered Name Holder's initial request if the Registrar does not provide facilities for the Registered Name Holder to generate and manage their own unique "AuthInfo" code and to remove the "ClientTransferProhibited" status. ... The Registrar of Record must not refuse to remove the "ClientTransferProhibited" status or release an "AuthInfo Code" to the Registered Name Holder solely because there is a dispute between the Registered Name Holder and the Registrar over payment.
Response from UK2 regarding this policy:
The operative words in the link you gave us is "Registered Name Holders" which means the domain must be active, not expired.
The definition of the terms "Registered Name" and "Registered Name Holder" are given in the 2013 Registrar Accreditation Agreement:
1.15 "Registered Name" refers to a domain name within the domain of a gTLD, whether consisting of two (2) or more (e.g., john.smith.name) levels, about which a gTLD Registry Operator (or an Affiliate or subcontractor thereof engaged in providing Registry Services) maintains data in a Registry Database, arranges for such maintenance, or derives revenue from such maintenance. A name in a Registry Database may be a Registered Name even though it does not appear in a zone file (e.g., a registered but inactive name).
1.16 "Registered Name Holder" means the holder of a Registered Name.
Under this definition, jscert.com is a "Registered Name" (since it appears in the WHOIS registry). We were the Registered Name Holders when the domain was registered and, as far as I can tell, there is nothing in the agreements that causes us to cease being the Registered Name Holder until the domain is deleted.