The timeline for a .com
The periods below are written into the .com registry agreement and into ICANN's Expired Registration Recovery Policy, which binds every ICANN-accredited registrar. The day numbers assume the registrar waits the full 45 days before deleting the name; a registrar may delete earlier, which shifts everything after it forward. The total from expiry to release is at most 80 days.
| Stage | When | How long | Website and email | WHOIS status | What you can do |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Expiration | Day 0 | The registry renews the name for a year on day 1 | Depends on the registrar | autoRenewPeriod | Renew through your registrar; a late fee may apply |
| Auto-renew grace | Days 1 to 45 | Up to 45 days; the registrar decides how many of them you get, from 1 to 45 | Off for at least the last 8 days before deletion | autoRenewPeriod, often with clientHold | Renew through your registrar |
| Redemption grace | Up to day 75 | 30 days after the registrar deletes the name | Off | redemptionPeriod | Restore through your registrar, usually for a redemption fee |
| Pending delete | Up to day 80 | 5 days | Off, not in the zone file | pendingDelete | Nothing; the name cannot be restored |
| Released | About day 80 | Until someone registers it | Gone | No record | Register it again, first come first served |
The WHOIS Lookup shows the expiry date and the current status codes of any domain, and its page has a list of what each status code means. The sections below follow the stages in order.
Before expiry: the reminders
The Expired Registration Recovery Policy, in force since 31 August 2013, requires the registrar to send at least two renewal reminders before the expiry date and one more after it if the name is still unpaid:
| When | What |
|---|---|
| 26 to 35 days before expiry | First renewal reminder (the policy says approximately one month) |
| 4 to 10 days before expiry | Second renewal reminder (approximately one week) |
| Within 5 days after expiry | A further notice with renewal instructions, if the name was not renewed or deleted |
These go to the contact addresses on the registration, which is the reason an expired domain so often comes as a surprise: the address was a mailbox at the domain itself, or at an employer or provider the owner has since left. The policy also requires the registrar to publish its renewal fee, its post-expiration renewal fee if different, and its redemption fee, so the cost of each stage below can be looked up before it happens.
Days 1 to 45: the auto-renew grace period
For .com, the registry does not delete an expired name. It renews it automatically for a year on the first day after the expiry date and gives the registrar 45 calendar days to decide. If the registrar deletes the name inside that window, it gets the renewal fee credited back and the name moves straight into the redemption grace period. If the registrar keeps it, the year stands and the registrar bills the owner. ICANN describes this to registrants as a period of 1 to 45 days in which the registrar may let you renew an expired name, possibly with a fee: the registry allows up to 45, the registrar decides how many of them it passes on.
During this stage the name still belongs to you, but the website probably does not work. The policy requires a registrar that deletes the name eight or more days after expiry to interrupt its DNS for at least the last 8 consecutive days before the deletion, and a registrar that deletes it sooner to interrupt the DNS from expiry until deletion. A notice on the site is not accepted as a substitute. A registrar may also set clientHold earlier than that, which ICANN's status code page says keeps the name out of the DNS so it does not resolve, and that stops both the site and any mail at the domain. The DNS Lookup shows what the nameservers answer right now; if the A and MX records have been replaced by the registrar's, the hold is in effect. The fix at this stage is simple: log in to the registrar and renew. The price is the normal renewal, sometimes plus a late fee.
The next 30 days: redemption
Once the registrar deletes the name, every generic top-level domain registry must hold it for a Redemption Grace Period of 30 days. The WHOIS status is redemptionPeriod. The name does not resolve and nobody can register it, but the former holder can have it restored by asking the registrar, which sends a restore request to the registry. While the registry waits for the restore paperwork the status reads pendingRestore, a window ICANN's status code page describes as frequently seven days; if the paperwork does not arrive, the name falls back to redemptionPeriod.
Restoring is more expensive than renewing. Registrars charge a redemption fee on top of the renewal, and ICANN notes that the options and fees vary by registrar, which is why the policy makes them publish the fee in advance. Even so, a restore inside the 30 days is the last point at which the domain is yours by right rather than by luck.
The last 5 days: pending delete
If the redemption period ends without a restore, the status changes to pendingDelete and the registry purges the name after 5 calendar days. The .com specification says a name in this status is not included in the zone file, so it cannot resolve, and a name only reaches this status because it was not restored in time; there is no restore from here. It is a countdown, nothing more.
Released
After the purge the name is available to the public again on a first-come, first-served basis. Anyone can register it, including people who watch for expiring names with an established audience or inbound links. If a name you used has been released and is still free, register it again at any registrar; it starts as a new registration with a new creation date. If it is gone, the Domain Name Generator builds alternatives from your keywords across .com, .net, .org and other endings and checks the registry for each on demand.
Country-code domains are different
Everything above is ICANN policy for generic top-level domains and the registrars ICANN accredits, and the 45-day figure is specific to the .com agreement. A country-code ending such as .de, .co.uk, .fr or .ca is run by its own registry, which sets its own expiry, grace and deletion rules, and those can differ in every respect, including whether there is a redemption period and how long it lasts. Do not assume the .com numbers; look up the registry's own policy, or ask the registrar, before an expiry date gets close.
How to never get here
- Turn on auto-renew at the registrar and keep a valid card on file; a renewal cannot go through on a card that has expired.
- Put a contact address on the registration that is not at the domain itself and that you will still read in ten years.
- Register for several years at once if the registrar offers it, so a single missed reminder is not a crisis.
- Check the expiry date once a year with the WHOIS Lookup, together with every other domain you own, including the ones that only redirect.
- If a name does expire, act in the first days: a renewal in the grace period costs a renewal, a restore in redemption costs a renewal plus a redemption fee, and after that it costs whatever the next registrant wants.
Frequently asked questions
Does my website stop working the day the domain expires?
Not necessarily on day one, but soon. Under the ICANN Expired Registration Recovery Policy a registrar that lets the name sit after expiry has to interrupt its DNS for at least the last eight consecutive days before deleting it, and if it deletes within eight days of expiry, from expiry until deletion. Many registrars park the name sooner. Email at the domain stops with the DNS.
How long do I have to renew an expired domain?
For a .com, the registry adds a year automatically the day after expiry and gives the registrar a 45-day auto-renew grace period to confirm or cancel that renewal. ICANN describes it as a 1 to 45 day window the registrar may offer you to renew, possibly with a late fee. The exact number of days is the registrar's choice, so check its terms.
What is the redemption period?
A 30-day period that every generic top-level domain registry must offer after a registrar deletes a name. The name does not resolve, nobody else can register it, and the former holder can have it restored through the registrar, typically for a redemption fee on top of the renewal. After the 30 days the name goes to pending delete and cannot be recovered.
What does pendingDelete mean in WHOIS?
The 30-day redemption period ended without a restore, and the registry will purge the name after five calendar days. Nothing can be done at this stage; the name is released to the public afterwards, first come first served.
Do these periods apply to .de, .co.uk or other country domains?
No. The Expired Registration Recovery Policy and the grace periods above are ICANN rules for generic top-level domains such as .com, .net and .org and the registrars ICANN accredits. A country-code ending is run by its own registry under its own rules, which can be shorter, longer or structured differently, so ask that registry or your registrar.
Can I get a domain back after it has been released?
Only by registering it again like anyone else, if it is still free. ICANN says a released name is made available on a first-come, first-served basis. A WHOIS lookup shows whether it is registered and, if so, with which registrar and since when.
Sources
- ICANN: .com Registry Agreement, Appendix 7, Functional and Performance Specifications (the registry renews an expired name automatically the first day after the expiration date; the Auto-Renew Grace Period of 45 calendar days; deletion inside it moves the name straight into the Redemption Grace Period; the 30-day Redemption Grace Period; the 5-day Pending Delete during which the name is not in the zone file)
- ICANN: Expired Registration Recovery Policy (two reminders about one month and one week before expiry, a notice within five days after; DNS interrupted for at least the last eight consecutive days before deletion; the 30-day Redemption Grace Period for all gTLD registries; renewal and restore fees must be published; in force since 31 August 2013)
- ICANN: 5 things every domain name registrant should know about the ERRP (the 1 to 45 day period a registrar may offer to renew an expired name, possibly with a fee; the 30-day redemption period; contact your registrar to restore)
- ICANN: FAQs for registrants, domain name renewals and expiration (PendingDelete for 5 days, release on a first-come, first-served basis, redemption fees, options and fees vary by registrar)
- ICANN: EPP status codes (what autoRenewPeriod, redemptionPeriod, pendingRestore, pendingDelete, clientHold and serverHold mean; the seven-day pendingRestore window; purge five calendar days after the redemption period)