What is "EPP Code"?
The Extensible Provisioning Protocol (EPP) is a flexible protocol designed for allocating objects within registries over the Internet.
The motivation for the creation of EPP was to create a robust and flexible protocol that could provide communication between domain name registries and domain name registrars. These transactions are required whenever a domain name is registered or renewed, thereby also preventing Domain hijacking. Prior to its introduction, registries had no uniform approach, and many different proprietary interfaces existed.
The code is officially called an AuthInfo Code and an Auth-Info code by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and registry operators. It is alternatively called an auth code, a transfer key, a transfer secret, an EPP code, EPP authentication code, or EPP authorization code.
Transfer secret is a domain transfer secret (transfer key), a key or code granted by all the domain name registrars for various Top-Level Domains (TLD) and possibly some country code Top-Level Domains (ccTLD), including .com and .net domains (for a while they didn't). Whether a ccTLD needs a code is generally up to the ccTLD's national authority. This code is used as a protection mechanism, to ensure that only the rightful domain owner can control the transfer of the domain registration. Domain names are valuable and important, and theft has been a problem. The official domain contact information is sometimes not current or correct, or may be privacy-protected, but in any event is not very useful to control transfers because administration of domains is done remotely, via the Internet.
