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Guide · updated September 27, 2026

My web agency no longer answers: how to get your website back, step by step

Unanswered e-mails, a phone ringing into the void, an agency that closed: it happens more often than you think. Here, in order, is how to protect your site, get your domain name and access back, and which remedies exist in Québec.

  • Steps in the right order
  • Sourced official rules
  • Ready-to-send e-mail
  • Reading time: 12 minutes

First: what is urgent, and what can wait

The domain name expires soon

Without renewal, your site and e-mail stop. It is the top priority.

The site is offline

Often unpaid hosting or domain. Check the domain’s expiry date first.

Your e-mail no longer works

E-mail depends on the domain and its settings (DNS). Same priority as the domain.

You can no longer edit the site

Annoying, but the site keeps working. You have time to do things in order.

You have no access to analytics

Can wait. At worst, you start over with a new account.

Don’t change anything in a hurry. Changing DNS settings or deleting an account before you have everything can cut off the site or e-mail. Take inventory first.

The 10-minute inventory

For each item, note who holds it, in whose name, and where. You will know exactly what to ask for.

  1. The domain name

    Who the registrant is, at which registrar, and when it expires. Our free test shows the registrar and the expiry date.

  2. The DNS settings

    They say where the site and e-mail go. They are often managed where the domain is, or at the host.

  3. The hosting

    Who pays the bill, and whose name the account is in. Our free test shows the likely host.

  4. The site’s admin access

    An account at your e-mail address, with full rights (not just “editor”).

  5. A full copy of the site

    The files and the database. That is what lets another agency take the site over.

  6. The domain’s e-mail

    The Google Workspace, Microsoft 365 or other account: in whose name, and who administers it.

  7. Your Google and social accounts

    Business Profile, Analytics, Search Console, Facebook and Instagram pages: who owns them.

  8. Licences and subscriptions

    Theme, plugins, fonts, apps: paid by whom, in whose name.

Our free test reads what your site shows publicly (registrar, expiry date, host, e-mail) and tells you what to ask for. Nothing is kept.

Start the test

The domain name first

It is the key to everything: your web address and e-mail depend on it. Three situations.

A. It is in your name

Good news: it belongs to you. Contact the registrar with proof that you are the registrant, and ask for access to the account or the transfer code (“EPP” or “AuthInfo” code) to move it to an account in your name.

For domains such as .com, ICANN requires the registrar to provide this code within 5 calendar days of your request, if it offers no tool to get it yourself. A transfer can be locked for 60 days after a change of registrant or a previous transfer.

Source: icann.org

B. It is in the agency’s name

For the registrar, the registrant is the agency: it cannot hand it to you without the agency. You need its cooperation (a change of registrant), or a remedy based on your contract and payments. Hence the importance of the e-mail in section 7 and the formal notice.

Meanwhile, watch the expiry date: if the agency does not renew, the domain can be lost for everyone.

C. It has expired

It is not lost yet, but time counts. Only the registrant can renew or redeem it, through the registrar.

  • A .ca: auto-renew period of 0 to 45 days (depending on the registrar), then 30 days of redemption, then release. Source: cira.ca
  • A .com: the registrant must be able to renew it after expiry until it is deleted, then 30 days of redemption follow deletion. Source: icann.org

Hosting and the site’s files

The account is in your name

Contact the host with proof of identity and payment: it can give you access back, and from there you can get a full copy and admin access to the site.

The account is in the agency’s name

The host will not give you access. Ask the agency for a full copy (files and database): it is item 3 of the e-mail in section 7.

You still have admin access

Make a backup now. On WordPress, the export tool gets at least the copy and pages; a backup plugin can copy the whole site.

None of the above

Your public copy and images may be archived by the Wayback Machine (web.archive.org). It is not the site itself, but it is enough to rebuild it elsewhere. Source: web.archive.org

Your domain’s e-mail

Addresses like you@your-business.ca depend on two things: the domain and its DNS settings, and the e-mail service (Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, the host…).

If the e-mail service is in your name, you keep your messages even if the site changes hands. If it is in the agency’s name, ask for its administration to be transferred to you before anything else: that is where your clients reach you.

Google and other accounts

Google Business Profile

Request ownership from the profile. The current owner has three days to respond; without an answer, you may be able to claim it, according to Google. Source: support.google.com

Search Console

As soon as you control the domain, you can prove to Google it is yours with a DNS setting, and get this data back.

Analytics

Without admin access or an answer from the agency, the simplest is often to create a new account in your name. You lose the history, not the future.

Social media and payments

Facebook and Instagram pages, Stripe, PayPal: check who administers them. These accounts should always be in your business’s name.

The e-mail to send the agency

Precise, polite, with a deadline. It also serves as proof if you need to go further. Replace what is in brackets.

Subject: Handover of access and files for our website [site address]

Hello [name],

We wish to take over the management of our website [site address]. Could you hand over to us, by [date]:
1. The domain [address]: its transfer to our name, or the transfer code and the registrar’s name.
2. Full admin access to the site, at our e-mail address.
3. Access to the hosting account, or a full copy of the site (files and database).
4. Access to the DNS settings and to the administration of our e-mail.
5. Admin access to our Google accounts (Analytics, Search Console, Business Profile) and our social media.
6. The list of licences paid for our site (theme, plugins) and their access.

If any amount remains due under our contract, please send us the details.
Please confirm receipt of this e-mail.

Best regards,
[Your name, business, phone]

Keep a copy of everything you send and receive: dates, e-mails, invoices, contract. It is your proof.

If the agency closed or went bankrupt

  1. Check its status

    Québec’s enterprise register shows whether the business is still registered, and who runs it. The online search is free. Source: quebec.ca

  2. In case of bankruptcy: the trustee

    The trustee manages the business’s property. Write to them to claim your access and files, with your contract and proof of payment.

  3. Protect the domain

    A closed agency renews nothing anymore. Watch the expiry date and contact the registrar if the domain is in your name.

Remedies in Québec

General information, not legal advice. For a significant dispute, see a lawyer.

1. The formal notice

A letter asking the agency to fix the situation within a set time. According to Québec.ca, it is often the first step to settle a dispute. Send it in a way that leaves proof of delivery: you will be asked for it in small claims.

Source: quebec.ca

2. Small claims

  • For an amount of $15,000 or less, not counting interest.
  • A business can sue if it employed at most 10 people in the previous 12 months.
  • You can ask for property to be returned in addition to the amount claimed.
  • The judgment cannot be appealed.
Source: quebec.ca

3. Beyond that

Above $15,000, or if you need a judge to quickly order your access handed over, talk to a lawyer.

Who owns the site?

What the Copyright Act says

The author of a work is the first owner of its copyright (s. 13(1)). If the work is made by an employee in the course of employment, it is the employer, unless agreed otherwise (s. 13(3)). An assignment of copyright is only valid if written and signed by the owner (s. 13(4)).

In practice: the agency that created the code and design owns them to begin with. If your contract provides a written assignment to your business, the site goes to you on its terms. Otherwise, the question is settled by your contract. Reread it, and see a lawyer if in doubt.

Source: laws-lois.justice.gc.ca

So it never happens again

  • The domain in your name, with an e-mail address you control.
  • Full admin access to the site, in your name.
  • Hosting in your name, or a full copy of the site every year.
  • Your Google, social and payment accounts in your name.
  • A written copyright assignment in the contract.
  • An up-to-date list of all your accounts and who has access.
Take the free testThe before-the-last-payment checklistThe 6 contract clauses

Frequently asked questions

My web agency no longer answers: will my site stop?

Not as long as the domain and the hosting are paid. The real risk is the domain expiring or an unpaid hosting bill. Check the domain’s expiry date first: our free test shows it in 2 minutes.

How do I get my domain name back?

If it is in your name, the registrar must let you get the transfer code: for domains such as .com, ICANN rules give it at most 5 calendar days if it offers no tool to get it yourself. If it is in the agency’s name, you need its cooperation, or a remedy based on your contract.

My domain expired: is it lost?

Not right away. A .ca goes through an auto-renew period (0 to 45 days depending on the registrar), then 30 days of redemption, before being released. For a .com, a 30-day redemption period follows deletion. Act fast: every day counts, and redemption may cost more.

Can the agency keep my site?

It depends on your contract. In Canada, whoever creates the code and design is the first owner of the copyright, and an assignment is only valid if written and signed (Copyright Act, s. 13). Reread your contract, and for a significant dispute, see a lawyer. (This is not legal advice.)

Can I sue the agency in small claims?

Yes if the amount claimed is $15,000 or less (excluding interest) and, for a business, if it employed at most 10 people in the previous 12 months. You can ask for property to be returned in addition to the amount. First send a formal notice and keep proof it was delivered. (This is not legal advice.)

The agency closed or went bankrupt: what now?

Check its status at Québec’s enterprise register. In case of bankruptcy, the trustee manages its property: write to them to ask for your access and files, with proof of your contract and payments.

How do I get my Google profile (Maps) back?

From the profile, request ownership. The current owner is notified and has three days to respond; without an answer, you may be able to claim it yourself, according to Google.

Sources

Pages read on September 27, 2026. These rules can change: check the source before acting. This guide gives general information, not legal advice.

What now?

Guide written by the AgencyVerity team, Montréal. Updated September 27, 2026. Back to contents · All our guides