Transferring an active domain name involves switching the domain registrar that handles the domain registration service, so after the transfer, you will have to manage things like renewal payments or DNS entry modifications through the new company. The transfer process is standard with most TLD extensions. Some country-code extensions are more specific and involve different steps, but in the general case transferring a domain name entails several necessary procedures and one of them is unlocking the domain. The domain lock is a security option, which is being embraced by more and more domain registry organizations. It is a standard feature supported by all generic TLDs. If a domain is locked, it will be impossible to initiate a transfer procedure, so nobody can even attempt to snatch your domain name. The domain lock can be removed only through the account where the domain is registered in the first place and all new domain names that support this option are locked by default the moment they are registered.