What Happens When My Domain Expires?

When a domain registration expires, your options for renewal vary based on when your domain expired.

When you reach your Trustname domain’s expiration date, the domain will be presumptively renewed. You’ll have a 30-day Grace period to renew your domain before it is up for grabs. The day the domain expires is day 1 of the Grace period.

Occasionally, a customer will contact us after the thirty-day Grace period to ask if they can get their domain back. Most of the time, we can help, but there is an added cost: a redemption fee of $169 for most top-level domains (TLDs).

But don't wait until it's too late. After the registry releases the expired domain, approximately 60 days after expiration, one of the following may occur:

The domain may be made available to the public, and anyone can register it on a first-come, first-served basis—including drop catch bots, so be warned.
The registry may "re-tier" it as a "premium domain", significantly increasing the cost of re-registering the domain name.
The registry may reserve the domain so that it can't be registered by anyone indefinitely.
Some registries, such as the .ai registry, may auction off the domain to the highest bidder before releasing it.

Each domain name extension and its registry rules can affect the renewal process once a domain has expired. Some domains, such as ccTLDs, may have special renewal requirements.

The renewal process after a domain expires can vary by each domain name extension and its registry rules. The times listed in this article are estimates for typical TLDs. Country code TLDs may have drastically different expiration and deletion cycles. To prevent any of the following from occurring, we recommend renewing your domains before they expire. Trustname typically deletes expired domains 35 to 40 days after expiration.

Expiration Timeline

We'll send several email reminders about your domain's expiration, starting 30 days before and continuing 30 days after the expiration date - unless you choose to let your domain expire by turning off notifications in your domain settings.

Days after the domain expiration	What happens and what you can do	Domain status in the interface	Change or add EPP status code
Any time before expiration	Abandoned domains – You can choose to abandon a domain any time before its expiration date. This status is triggered when the Let it Lapse setting is enabled. We will not attempt to auto-renew the domain, and no expiration reminders will be sent. After expiry, your nameservers will be changed, the domain will be parked, and all associated services (website, email, etc.) will stop working. You may still manually renew it for the standard renewal price during the applicable Grace period.	Active or Expiring → Abandoned
1-10	Your expired domain should continue to function as normal for the first 10 days of the auto-renew Grace period. We understand that payment issues can arise, so we allow 10 days to resolve any failed payments. You can manually renew at the standard price during this time. Please note that other registrars may have a Grace period as short as zero days or as long as 45 days, and they may charge additional late registration fees.	Expiring → Grace	ok → autoRenewPeriod+ pendingRenew (optionally if you decide to renew your domain for another term)
11-14	The domain will stop functioning when it is placed on clientHold status. This means it will be removed from the root zone and will eventually stop resolving. In other words, the website won't load, and emails won't be delivered. The domain can be renewed at our regular renewal rates. Domains with this status can still be renewed and transferred. NOTE: The domain will soon be submitted to third-party auction services. If someone bids on it at auction, you may lose your domain on the 31st day.	Grace	+ clientHold
15	The domain is now available for auction and will be redirected to a monetized parking page. Your nameservers will be changed, and your site and email will stop working. You can renew the domain at our regular renewal rates. If you renew the domain before the auction ends, it will automatically stop. Domains that have received auction bids are ineligible for renewal and will be transferred to the auction winner.	Grace
31	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. Domains can only be transferred to a different registrar 1-30 days after expiration. However, transfers are not allowed within three days before entering the Immediate renewal required (restore) period.	Grace → Immediate renewal required	clientTransferProhibited or pendingTransfer (if sold via auction transfer)
35-40	Between days 35 and 45 after expiration, usually days 37 or 38, if the expired domain does not sell at auction, the auto-renew Grace Period ends. At this point, the domain is either removed from Trustname or offered to other third parties. You can try to renew the domain through your account, but there is no guarantee that it will be possible.	Immediate renewal required → Removed from your account	+ redemptionPeriod, clientRenewProhibited
41-64	If the domain is removed from your account, it is considered to be in the Redemption Grace Period. During this period, the domain can only be renewed using the registry restoration process. Due to the higher registry restoration fees, the renewal cost will be at least $169. Get in touch with our support team for additional assistance.
65-69	The domain can no longer be renewed and is scheduled for deletion from the registry. The expired domain will typically be marked "Pending Delete" in Whois and can no longer be redeemed. There’s no turning back—the domain will be released by the registry and may be lost forever.		+ pendingDelete
70+	The domain has been deleted from the registry and is returned to the pool of available domains for anyone to register. You may be able to register the domain after the registry releases it, but Trustname can’t advise when that will occur.		Tregistry releases the expired domain. No EPP status — domain is available for anyone to register.

An expired domain is safe to begin a transfer outwards from Trustname within 14 days of expiry. Domains that have expired for more than 15 days are listed at auction and can be renewed to end the auction automatically, which is required to transfer the domain to another registrar during this period. Get in touch with our support team for additional assistance with the transfer of an expired name.

Read Understanding Your Domain's EPP Status Code for more detailed information.

Please note that all times and dates in this article are estimates. Many of the factors mentioned are beyond our control. Trustname does not guarantee that the above timelines and procedures will occur exactly as stated in all cases. Some domains, such as ccTLDs, may have special renewal requirements.

The expiration schedule is different for the following TLDs. The values listed represent the "Days after domain expiration" as listed and defined above.

TLD	Expired (Grace period)	Expired (Restore period)	Expired (Pending delete period)	Deleted
.ca	1-62	N/A	63	Within 64-70
.energy	1-79	N/A	80	85
.beer, .boston, .casa, .cooking, .fashion, .fishing, .fit, .garden, .horse, .law, .miami, .rodeo, .surf, .vip, .vodka, .wedding, .work, .yoga,	1-33	34-79	80-84	85
.audio, .blackfriday, .christmas, .click, .diet, .flowers, .game, .gift, .guitars, .help, .hiphop, .hiv, .hosting, .juegos, .link, .lol, .mom, .photo, .pics, .property, .sexy, .tattoo,	1-33	34-214	215-219	220

This article primarily addresses ICANN-regulated extensions, such as .com, and does not to country-code top-level domains (ccTLDs), such as .ca, .de, .cx, and .am, which do not have a Grace period and may enter redemption or be deleted several days before expiration. Be sure to renew these domains early, before they expire. Redemption fees for expired country code domains may be much higher or lower than those for other domains. Similarly, some domains, such as those on the .co TLD, may stop resolving, and the registry may assign its own name servers immediately following expiration.

Expiration Notices

We will send multiple email notifications to you before and after domains expire, which is one of many reasons it is important for you to keep your email address with us current. Please remember it is your responsibility to ensure renewal of your domains. We make our best efforts to issue the reminders below, but email is not 100% reliable and should not be depended upon exclusively to make sure your domains do not expire.

We will email you 30 days before the expiration of each domain.
We will email you 7 days before the expiration of each domain.
If you have a domain that is expiring for which an auction bid has been made, we will email you both 7 days and 2 days prior to expiration to let you know.
Upon expiration of your domain, our system will email you and your domain will be deactivated. This will result in all services related to your domain ceasing to function (including, but not limited to, web site and email).

On Aug. 31, 2013, ICANN adopted the Expired Registration Recovery Policy (ERRP), which requires registrars to disclose important information to Registrants and prospective customers about expiration notices, fees and redemption procedures. All required information and disclosures currently exist in various locations throughout our website. However, as an aid to Registrants, this article contains links to all required elements in the new policy.

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