Transferring an active domain name entails changing the domain name registrar that handles the domain name registration service, so after the transfer itself, you will have to manage things like renewal fees or DNS modifications through the new registrar. The transfer process itself is standard with most TLD extensions. Some country-code extensions are more specific and entail different procedures, but in the general case transferring a domain name entails a few basic steps and one of them is unlocking the domain. The domain lock is a safety feature, which is being embraced by more and more domain registry organizations. It is a default feature supported by all generic top-level domain names. If a domain name is locked, it will not be possible to start a transfer process, so no one can even try to register your domain name. The domain lock can be removed only through the account where the domain is registered and all new domain names that support this option are locked by default the moment they are registered.