Forced transfer
Execute custodian-only exception transfers for recovery, legal, or compliance cases.
A forced transfer moves tokens from one holder address to another without the source holder's signature. It exists for exceptional recovery, legal, or compliance cases where an authorised custodian must intervene on an asset.
Treat forced transfer as a governed operator workflow. The smallest safe test is to open the forced-transfer action for a non-production asset, confirm that the source holder, recipient, amount, and evidence are available, and stop before submitting unless the exception has been approved.
Custodian-only exception workflow
Forced transfers are not a routine transfer path. Bypassed controls include holder authorization, normal transfer initiation, standard freeze restrictions, and configured compliance-module transfer checks.
At the contract layer, the asset pause state alone does not reject the action. The Asset Console can still make the action unavailable while an asset is paused.
Forced transfers do not bypass recipient registration. Run the action through an operator with the Custodian role, send assets only to verified recipients, and keep the legal or recovery evidence with the operation record.
When to use a forced transfer
Use forced transfer only when the custodian has authority to resolve an exception and the recipient is known before submission.
| Case | Example |
|---|---|
| Court or insolvency order | Move tokens to a court-appointed trustee or controlled account. |
| Estate handling | Move tokens from a deceased holder to a verified beneficiary wallet. |
| Sanctions or compliance action | Move tokens out of an address that can no longer hold the asset. |
| Lost wallet recovery | Move tokens from a verified lost wallet to the holder's new verified wallet. |
| Operational correction | Correct a documented exception approved by the asset operator. |
Do not use forced transfer to avoid normal holder approval, compliance review, or operational friction. If the holder can initiate the transfer and the recipient passes the usual checks, use the standard transfer flow instead.
Prerequisites
Before you start, make sure you have:
- the Custodian role for the asset
- a source holder address with enough token balance
- a registered and verified recipient address
- the approved transfer amount
- supporting evidence, such as a court order, probate document, sanctions case record, or account-recovery approval
- the internal approval required by your custody, compliance, and operational procedures
What the operation does
A forced transfer debits the source holder and credits the recipient in one custodian-authorised transaction. It is deliberately different from a normal holder transfer.
| Check or control | Normal transfer | Forced transfer |
|---|---|---|
| Holder signature or approval | Required | Not required |
| Custodian role | Not required | Required |
| Standard freeze restrictions | Apply | Bypassed |
| Asset pause state | Blocks transfer | Not rejected at contract layer; console availability can still be gated |
| Configured compliance can-transfer check | Applies | Bypassed |
| Recipient registration and identity check | Applies | Applies |
The recipient check is the key boundary: a forced transfer can override the source holder's participation, but it still sends tokens only to a registered recipient for the asset.
Steps
Open the forced-transfer action
Go to Asset Management, select the asset, then choose Manage Asset > Forced transfer.
Check the exception before entering values
Confirm that the case is approved, the recipient is registered, and the source holder has enough balance. If any part is missing, stop and resolve it before using the action.
Enter transfer details
Fill in:
- From address: the holder address losing tokens
- To address: the verified recipient address
- Amount: the token amount to move
Review and authenticate
Review the source address, recipient address, amount, and confirmation text. Authenticate with the required operator factor, such as PIN or OTP, and submit only when the form details match the approved exception case.
Record the evidence
Record the transaction hash, approving operator, reason for the exception, and supporting legal or recovery evidence. Keep the record where auditors can match the business approval to the on-chain movement.
Production checks
Forced transfers need stronger operational discipline than routine transfers. Before using them in production:
- Limit the Custodian role to approved operators and review the assignment regularly.
- Define which evidence is required for each exception type.
- Decide who can approve the operation before the custodian submits it.
- Test the workflow on a non-production asset, including recipient rejection and insufficient-balance cases.
- Confirm how your deployment handles paused assets in the Asset Console and in contract-level emergency procedures.
- Monitor transaction status after submission and retain the operation record with the case file.
- If an integration retries the API submission, use the forced-transfer API's idempotency handling so a network retry does not create a duplicate queued operation.
Troubleshooting
| Issue | What to check |
|---|---|
| Option not visible | Verify that your operator account has the Custodian role for the asset and that the Asset Console makes the action available for the current asset state. |
| Insufficient balance | Check the source holder's balance before submitting the transfer. |
| Recipient rejected | Verify that the recipient address is registered and eligible for the asset. |
| Transaction reverts | Check the source balance, recipient identity status, gas, wallet verification, and custody policy. |
| Asset is paused | Pause can block this Asset Console workflow. Unpause the asset first, or follow your deployment's contract-level emergency procedure if one is approved. |
| Evidence missing | Stop the operation until the legal, recovery, or compliance evidence is attached to the case record. |
Related operations
The Custodian role also enables freeze, unfreeze, and wallet-recovery operations. For API use, see Execute forced transfers through the API and Token holders and transfers. For reconciliation after the write, see Token events. For the normal compliance path, see Compliance transfer flow. For permissions, see Per-Asset RBAC.