I’ve been asked by a few clients regarding their expiring domains and the frequent email notifications they receive from their domain registrar, while most of them are afraid of losing their domain in case of payment failure, there are a few customers that are not sure to keep or leave a domain and want to know for how long they will have the option to pay and still own it.
Every domain registrar have different policies, when to notify and how to notify and how many time to notify they domain registrants about their domain expiration. Mostly use email notification, however we had very few domain registrants sending mailer in the past. ICANN requires all domain registrars show their policy in several places on their websites to make sure every one is aware of what would happen when their domains expire.
Below I have gathered most popular domain registrars policies Expired Registration Recovery Policy (ERRP). Please note that domain registrars update their policies frequently and in order to get the most accurate and updated information you may need to find it on their websites.
GoDaddy Grace Period for Expired Domains*
| Days after domain expiration | What happens and what you can do |
|---|---|
| +1 day | We’ll try to auto-renew it, or you can manually renew for the standard renewal price. |
| +5 days | We’ll try to auto-renew again – but if that doesn’t work, your domain gets parked: your site and email stop working. But you can still manually renew for the standard renewal price. |
| +12 days | We’ll try to auto-renew your domain one more time. You can still manually renew for the standard renewal price. |
| +19 days | Domain goes on hold: it’s still in your account but inactive. Manually renew with applicable redemption fee. |
| +26 days | Domain goes to auction. You can still manually renew for the standard price plus the applicable redemption fee. You can also place your own bid. |
| +30 days | If no active bids in the auction, the domain stays in your account but now it’s expired. You can manually renew for the standard price plus the applicable redemption fee. If there’s an active bid at auction, the domain can’t be renewed. |
| +36 days | Domain goes to a final closeout auction. Until there’s an active bid, you can still manually renew for the standard price plus the applicable redemption fee. Once there’s a bid, you can’t renew the domain, but you can place your own bid. |
| +41 days | Final closeout auction ends. You can still manually renew for the standard price plus the applicable redemption fee. |
| +72 days | Domain is removed from your account and you can’t renew it any more. You may be able to register the domain after the registry has released it, but GoDaddy can’t advise when the registry will release a domain for registration. |
Network Solutions Grace Period for Expired Domains *
| Days before and after domain expiration | What happens and what you can do |
|---|---|
| -60 days | If a customer has selected our “auto-renew” feature for a domain name registration, we will attempt to automatically renew the domain name approximately 60 days prior to the domain name expiration date If a reseller in the Network Solutions Partner Program has selected our “auto-renew” feature for a domain name registration on behalf of a customer, we will attempt to automatically renew the domain name approximately 15 days prior to the domain name expiration date If a customer has not selected our “auto-renew” feature for a domain name, toward the end of the existing registration period, we send several communications to customers and/or the agents acting on their behalf alerting them that their domain name services will expire on a certain date. |
| +35 days | We currently endeavor to provide a grace period of at least 35 days during which a domain name can be renewed; however, a grace period is not guaranteed and can change at any time without notice |
| After 35 Days | If a domain name is not renewed during any grace period provided by us, pursuant to our Service Agreement, we may, in our sole discretion, attempt to find a third party who is interested in registering the domain name, and then renew and transfer the domain name to that third party on our customer’s behalf. |
| + 45 days | In the event a domain name is the subject of a Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) proceeding and expires or is deleted during the course of the dispute, the complaining customer has the option to renew or restore the domain name under the same commercial terms as the original customer. If the case ultimately is terminated or the arbitrator finds against the complaining customer, the name will be deleted within 45 days. |
* We do not have any affiliations with GoDaddy, Network Solutions, Google, Amazon, Blue Host, Host Gator, Host Monster, Yahoo. The information provided may change at any time without notice and you need to always check with registrar company to get an accurate information to avoid any domain loss.
