Domain Expiration Timeline

When a domain name approaches and eventually passes its expiration date without action from the owner, the following timeline applies.  These dates are estimates that can be used as a guide for when to expect certain emails.

Note: The dates below reference the expiry date as Day 0, so negative dates are days before.

Expiry grace period 

Our registrar offers a non-guaranteed 30-day grace period for renewal for many TLDs. Each registry has its own rules regarding expiry grace, and some may not offer a grace period. Once a domain expires, the registrar may dispose of it in any way, at any time, according to the registration agreement. 

When a domain expires it becomes inactive immediately, a parking page is displayed, and all the services, such as a website or email cease to function. It is impossible to update an expired domain, but the registrant can still transfer it to another registrar. The domain will remain available for reactivation at the regular renewal rate. Follow the standard renewal steps for renewing domains in their expiry grace period.

The domain may appear to be renewed for another year in the registry Whois lookup. This added year indicates the "auto-renew grace period" provided by the registry. The registry charges the registrar's account for the renewal to hold the domain name, allowing the registrant time to renew it. Despite the date at the registry, the domain is still expired and must be renewed or transferred or risk going to redemption or auction.

Redemption period

After a domain has passed through any applicable expiration grace period, it may go into a non-guaranteed redemption period which typically lasts 30-45 days. The Enom system may also move the domain to auction in this period. The domain cannot be modified or transferred in this state and will continue to point to an expired page. The account holder or registrant must recover the domain to bring it back online. There is an additional fee to restore domains from redemption as well as the renewal fee.

If the domain is not recovered from redemption, the registry will eventually delete it. Once the domain enters the pendingDelete status at the registry, the registry will delete the domain will delete within five days. After the registry deletes the domain, it will be available on a first-come-first-served basis.

Auction

The registrar makes every effort to allow registrants to renew their expired domain names. The registrant or account holder can renew their domain at the normal rate within the expiry grace period. Once the grace period has ended, the registrar reserves the right to provide a redemption grace period or send the domain to auction.

Domains moved to auction will either show up in the Afternic, LLC account at the registrar or be listed in a Whois lookup as registered elsewhere. In either case, these domains are no longer recoverable through standard methods.

Domains moved to auction cannot be recovered except through purchase at auction. They are no longer the property of the previous registrant and will be available for general purchase at auction.