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An IPS Tag Explained: What It Does and How .uk Transfers Work

An IPS tag identifies the registrar managing a .uk domain. Learn what it means, what it does not change, and how to check current transfer requirements.
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An IPS tag is an identifier for the registrar managing a .uk domain in Nominet’s registry system. It is not an IP address or a DNS setting. If you are moving a .uk domain, confirm the receiving registrar’s current instructions first: older guidance describes changing the tag, while current Nominet materials also cover transfer authorization codes and other registry operations.

What an IPS tag identifies

An IPS tag—also called a registrar tag or Nominet tag—is the registry-side identifier associated with the registrar managing a .uk domain. Nominet’s current registrar documentation generally calls it a “tag.” Provider documentation may expand IPS as “Internet Provider Security.” The tag identifies the domain’s registrar relationship; it is not information about the domain’s network destination.

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Nominet describes tags and registrar systems in its .UK Registrar systems documentation.

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What an IPS tag is not

  • Not an IP address: An IP address is a network address. The letters “IP” in IPS tag do not make the tag an address for your website or server.
  • Not a DNS record or nameserver: DNS configuration controls how a domain resolves or directs services. A registrar change and DNS changes are separate operations; changing a tag by itself does not change your hosting or nameserver records.
  • Not a registrant change: Changing the registrar that manages a domain is different from changing the person or organization recorded as its holder.
  • Not the same as a transfer authorization code: A tag identifies a registrar. An authorization code is a separate credential used in transfer processes.

For a provider’s terminology and explanation of the distinction from authorization-code approaches, see Shopify’s Domains terminology.

How a .uk registrar move may involve a tag

Older provider instructions commonly describe a transfer as the current registrar changing the domain’s tag to the destination registrar’s tag. Some receiving registrars also require an approval or acceptance step. That description is useful background, not a universal sequence for every current transfer.

Nominet’s current materials describe more than a simple tag-change workflow. Its .UK Registrar systems documentation covers push transfers and release operations, and its .UK Policies (policy version 2026-03) include transfer authorization-code requirements. Do not assume that a .uk transfer never needs a code because an older guide describes a tag change.

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What to check before moving your domain

  1. Identify the destination registrar and read its current instructions for the particular .uk domain and transfer route.
  2. Ask your existing provider what action it must take and whether any authorization code or other approval is required.
  3. Confirm the destination tag directly with the receiving registrar. Provide it to the current provider only if the current process calls for it.
  4. Complete any receiving-provider acceptance or registrant approval that the instructions require.
  5. Check separately whether you need to change DNS, nameservers, or hosting. A registrar move does not itself make those changes.

There is no single fixed sequence or guaranteed timing established for every provider and transfer route. Registry procedures and provider controls can change, so follow current guidance from Nominet and both registrars before initiating the move. ANS’s What is a domain/IPS tag? explains the traditional tag-change approach.

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Which details matter for your situation?

  • You are only changing hosting or DNS: An IPS tag change is not the DNS operation. Check the hosting or DNS provider’s instructions instead.
  • You are changing registrars: Ask both providers which current transfer route applies; do not rely solely on an older tag-only description.
  • You are changing the domain holder: Ask about the registrar’s registrant-change process, which is separate from a registrar transfer.

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