IPv4 transfers,
registry by registry.
A transfer moves the registration of a block from one organization to another. Every registry runs its own process, asks for different evidence, and takes a different amount of time. This is what each of them actually requires, and where transfers tend to stall.
The registration, not the address space.
Internet number resources are not property. What a transfer changes is which organization the registry records as the holder, and that holding exists under the registry's own rules rather than as a title deed. It has no end date, nothing reverts, and it does not depend on a continuing relationship with whoever brokered it.
That distinction matters because it explains the paperwork. A registry is not witnessing a sale between two parties. It is deciding whether to record a new holder, and it will only do that once both sides satisfy its policy. Which is why the state of the seller's registration, not the price, is what usually decides whether a transfer completes.
Each one asks for something different.
Policies change. These are the differences that have held steady long enough to plan around.
RIPE NCC
No needs-based justification for a transfer, which makes it the most straightforward of the five. Recipients must be members in good standing.
RIPE guidance →ARIN
Needs-based. The recipient demonstrates what the space is for before approval, and pre-approval is worth obtaining before a block is even identified.
ARIN guidance →APNIC
Its own approval criteria, applied to both sides. Inter-RIR transfers in and out are permitted with the registries that reciprocate.
APNIC guidance →LACNIC
The most restrictive of the five on what may leave the region, and the one where an assumption carried over from RIPE or ARIN is most likely to be wrong.
LACNIC guidance →Inter-RIR
Two registries, two policies, two queues. Both must permit the transfer with each other, and the slower side sets the timeline.
Inter-RIR transfers →Legacy and dormant space
Blocks that predate the registry agreements, or whose holder was dissolved years ago, often cannot transfer in the state they are in. Recovering them is routine work.
Selling address space →Everything we have written on transfers.
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Read more →The registries set the clock, not us.
A RIPE transfer can complete in one to two weeks. ARIN transfers typically run two to six. An inter-RIR transfer involves two registries and generally takes four to eight, because the slower of the two decides.
Pre-approval and documentation add time at the front rather than the back, and that front-loading is where a transfer is either easy or difficult. Once a submission is complete and correct, registry review is usually the only real wait left.
We would rather quote a range we can meet than a date we cannot, so we will tell you what is realistic for your registry and your block size before you commit to anything.
Thinking about a transfer?
Prefixx is a registered broker with ARIN, RIPE NCC and APNIC, and members of our team helped author the RIPE transfer policies we work inside. We handle the submission, the escrow and the registry correspondence.
Explore related services
Buy IPv4
Source vetted IPv4 blocks with zero buyer fees. Prefixx manages the entire transfer process across ARIN, RIPE, APNIC and LACNIC.
Learn more →Sell IPv4
Monetize unused IPv4 address space. We connect you with qualified buyers and manage the transfer from start to finish.
Learn more →Inter-RIR Transfers
Transfer IPv4 addresses between ARIN, RIPE NCC, APNIC and LACNIC regions with Prefixx handling the cross-registry process.
Learn more →Contact us to discuss your IPv4 needs today
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