The following table identifies the entire expiry process and whether the domain can be renewed. Please note that some TLDs (extensions) have different schedules, but this applies for most TLDs:
| DAYS SINCE EXPIRATION* | STATUS | DETAILS |
|---|---|---|
| 1-33 (1-62 for .ca) | Expired (grace period) | The domain will stop functioning as the domain will be placed on clientHold status (web site won't load, email won't be delivered, etc.), but the domain can be renewed at our regular renewal rates. Domains in this status and on clientHold can still be renewed and transferred. Please see below that you may lose your domain on the 31st day if it is bid upon via auction. |
| 5 | Expired (grace period) | The domain is made available for auction bidding. You can still renew the domain at our regular renewal rates. If you renew the domain at any time before the auction ends (read below), the auction will automatically stop. |
| 31 | Expired (grace period) | The domain auction ends. The highest bidder will be awarded the domain at this time if there are any active bids. You would lose your domain at this time if it was not renewed. |
| 34-64 | Expired (restore/redemption period) | If there were not any active bids, the domain will enter the redemption period. The domain can only be renewed during this period using the registry restoration process. You can still renew the domain through your account, but an additional restore/redemption fee will be added to your invoice. This increased cost is due to the much higher cost we need to pay to the registry for domain restorations. Note: domains can also only be transferred to a different registrar prior to entering the Expired (restore period). |
| 65-69 (63 for .ca) | Expired (pending delete) | The domain can no longer be renewed and will be deleted from the registry. Once your domain reaches this status, there is nothing that can be done to renew it. |
| 70 (64-70 for .ca) | Deleted | The domain has been deleted from the registry and is returned to the pool of available domains for anybody to register. |
If your domain has reached the redemption phase - Expired (restore period) - you will see the redemption fee automatically added to your renewal invoice. The only ways you can recover the domain at this phase are to either:
- Pay the renewal invoice with the redemption fee, which will bring your domain back from the dead within approximately 2-6 hours, or
- Let the domain fully expire and await its release, then purchase it anew. You may have to wait as long as 36 additional days for the domain to be fully released. Also note that there is a chance that domain hawkers could snap up your domain before you have a chance to purchase it again. If it's a highly desirable name this is likely. For unique or long business names this is not very likely. If you wish to avoid this possibility, you must take option (1) and renew it with the redemption fee.
As much as we would absolutely love to not have redemption fees, our upstream registrars will charge us the redemption fee, and as such we have no way around it. We do our best to minimize those costs by making the redemption fee approximately equivalent to what we pay for domain redemption after the USD conversion.
