What happens when a domain name expires? Print

  • domains, domain names
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If you choose not to renew a domain and it expires it will become inactive immediately and any services connected to it i.e. website and email will stop working.

Updates to the domain name cannot be made until the domain name is renewed or registered again.

With most domain names you can renew the domain during the 'grace period' at the usual price for approximately four weeks however there is no guaranteed grace period length as each registry has different rules about renewals. Because of this once a domain expires we can't guarantee a set renewal cut off time.

After the grace period is over most domain names go into what is referred to as redemption.

The redemption period is the grace period provided after the registrar has issued a delete request to the registry. Only the previous registrant can recover the domain during this time, and it must be retrieved through the same registrar.

To recover a domain from redemption status usually costs quite a lot more than a normal renewal. The fee is different depending on the tld involved.

"Pending Delete" refers to the five day time frame after redemption. During this time the registry holds the domain and it cannot be recovered. Once the domain registry deletes the domain it then becomes available for anyone to register as a new domain name which is on a first come first served basis.

To increase your chances of acquiring a Pending Delete domains you could try a service where you can place a backorder on the domain however if it is a good domain name there is no guarantee you will get it back. It can be quite nerve wracking so we suggest that you renew your domain names in good time to avoid unecessary anxiety. You can also stock your account with a small amount of credit so that you can auto-renew your domain names.

Once you renew the domain, all previous settings, website and email will start working again fairly quickly.

Renewal years are always added to the end of the current registration period (i.e., the new expiration date is the same whether you renew two months early or the day before expiration) so if you renew one month early you do not lose any time.




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