An indirect rollover is when you take possession of the money outside of a retirement account in between moving it from one custodian to another.

For example: you withdraw the money from your IRA to a bank account, then send that money to a different IRA. Or maybe you get a check that is payable to you, which counts as you "taking possession" even if you pass it to the new IRA rather than cashing it yourself.

This is different from a direct rollover. There are no limits on direct rollovers. A direct rollover could be:

• An "in kind" rollover, where the actual securities owned in your first IRA are transferred directly into the second IRA.
• Your old IRA provider sends you a check made payable to the new IRA provider. For example, "TO: Fidelity Investments FBO Livids-Pomegranate" (FBO means "For the Benefit Of").

A Roth conversion is another type of "direct" transfer between IRAs, and as such is also not subject to the once-per-12-months rule.