A domain is registered for a fixed period, from one to ten years. If it is not renewed in time it passes through several stages before anyone else can register it. Each stage has different consequences and costs, so it pays to know them.
In short
- Renew before the expiry date and nothing changes.
- After expiry the website and email stop working, but you can usually still renew for a while.
- Late recovery gets expensive, and eventually the name is released to the public.
The stages
| Stage | Typical length | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Active | Registration period | Domain works normally. Renew any time to add years. |
| Expired / renewal grace | About 0 to 45 days after expiry (often 30) | The registrar parks or suspends DNS, so site and email stop. You can renew at the normal price. |
| Redemption grace period | About 30 days | The registry has marked the domain for deletion. Only the registrant can restore it, with an extra redemption fee. |
| Pending delete | About 5 days | Cannot be restored by anyone. |
| Released | - | Available for anyone to register, often caught instantly by drop-catching services. |
Exact lengths depend on the TLD and registrar; many country-code TLDs use different rules or skip some stages.
How to never lose a domain
- Turn on auto-renew and keep a valid payment method.
- Keep your registrant email current so renewal reminders arrive; see update your contact details.
- Register important domains for several years.
- Pay renewal invoices promptly; see what happens when an invoice is overdue.
Warning: Hosting and domain renew separately. Paying for hosting does not renew your domain, and vice versa.