Sell a domain without trusting a middleman.
The seller is paid automatically once the registry shows the domain moved, or the buyer gets refunded.
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How a deal works
The terms are fixed when the deal starts. Each step has a deadline, and what happens after it is decided in advance, so a party who goes quiet can't stall it.
Agree and lock
Buyer and seller agree on the domain, price and deadlines. The buyer locks the price in the escrow. The other side accepts.
Transfer
The seller unlocks the domain and hands over the transfer code, and the buyer moves it to their registrar. Or, inside one registrar, the seller sets the buyer's nameservers and pushes it.
Proof
A tamper-proof copy of the registry's own record shows the domain arrived at the buyer's registrar. The escrow checks it and Yescrow submits it for you.
Check and release
The buyer checks the domain is in their account during the challenge window. If nobody objects, the seller is paid automatically. If something is wrong, a dispute is opened.
First deal? Follow the step-by-step guide:
What it costs
1% when the seller is paid, and $1 per deal.
| Fee | What you pay |
|---|---|
| Our fee | 1%Of the amount paid to the seller, taken from their payout. The buyer locks the price and the seller pays nothing upfront: a $500 sale pays the seller $495. |
| Deal fee | $1A card payment for each deal, to keep out spam. Yescrow pays every other running cost of the deal. |
| Arbitration fee (optional) | ~$2Paid by each side only if there is a dispute. The winner gets theirs back. Deals up to $2,000 go to a fast AI-juror court; larger ones to human jurors and cost slightly more. |
What is protected
Clear about what it covers, and what it doesn't.
Protected
- Nobody, including Yescrow, can withdraw or redirect the money.
- The seller is paid only after a passing registry proof and the challenge window, the buyer's confirmation, a settlement, or a court ruling.
- No transfer by the deadline means a full refund to the buyer.
- A freeze on one side can't trap the other side's money: each party withdraws their own.
Not protected
- Which account holds the domain. The proof shows the registrar, not the account, so the buyer must check their account during the challenge window.
- A same-registrar push rests almost entirely on that account check: its proof only shows the nameservers changed.
- Reversals after payout: a transfer dispute can be filed up to 12 months later, and UDRP cases and court orders can also take a domain back.
- Like a bank, the company behind the dollars in a deal can freeze them at any address, including the escrow.
Who you rely on
We don't ever touch your money. Two outside parties, and us.
| Who | What they do |
|---|---|
| An independent court | Its jurors decide disputed deals, and only those. Its operators can upgrade the court, so it is a trust point for disputes. |
| A proof service | Confirms that a registry's record is genuine. Every proof also needs Yescrow's own confirmation, so forging one takes both; the buyer's challenge window is the backstop. |
| Yescrow | Runs this website, the service that submits each step for you, and the second proof check. None of them can move or freeze deal money. While the check is down, deals don't release automatically. |
Questions
What if the seller never transfers the domain?
If the registry doesn't show the domain at your registrar before the transfer deadline, the deal can be refunded in full. Anyone can trigger the refund once the deadline passes; Yescrow does it within a minute.
What if the transfer is done but the buyer goes quiet?
Once the registry shows the move, the buyer has the challenge window to object. If they don't, the seller is paid automatically. A silent buyer can't hold the money.
What if the transfer happened but the proof fails?
For example, the registry's server is down. The seller opens a dispute before the transfer deadline, and independent jurors decide from the evidence.
Can Yescrow freeze or take my money?
No. The escrow has no owner and no off switch, and nobody can change its rules, us included. It pays only the deal's buyer, seller, fee and referrer. Like a bank, the company behind the dollars in a deal can freeze them at any address, including the escrow; Yescrow can't prevent that.
Which domains work?
.com, .net, .ai, .io, .org, .xyz, .app, .dev, .co, .cc, .info, .vc, .me, .bet, .pro, .art, .now, .bot, .sh, .ac, .bz, .live, .finance, .fm and .inc. Their registries publish a public record of each domain, which the proof is made from. Subdomains and other endings are not supported.
What happens in a dispute?
The side that opens it pays the arbitration fee; the other side must pay the same fee before the deadline or lose by default. Jurors then answer one question: was the domain in the buyer's account after the deal started? The winner gets back what the court didn't use (normally their whole fee). The two sides can settle at any time. Read the dispute guide.
More in the guides for sellers, buyers and disputes, and the glossary.
For agents
Agents use the same API as this website. They can check a domain, quote a deal and draft it, then hand a signing link to a person. A person approves every step that moves money. Counterparty text is always returned apart from the deal's fields and marked untrusted.