Support Start > About Us and Our Services > About Domain Name Only Service > Renewing Domain Names

The first thing to keep in mind is that if you have Web hosting service through us, it normally includes domain name renewal at no extra charge. We’ll automatically renew Web hosting domain names every year, at least three weeks before they expire. You won’t get a separate renewal notice, and you don't need to do anything. (The only exception is if you registered the domain name itself separately through another company, in which case they’ll send you notices and you'll need to renew it with them.)

If you’ve purchased a “domain name only” account through us, though — that is, a domain name without Web hosting service, including “parked” domain names and domain name aliases — you’ll need to renew it when it expires. You’ll know it needs to be renewed because we send several renewal notices by email to both the administrative and billing contacts.

Renewing a “domain name only” domain name is easy: just login using “My Account” and you’ll see a link prompting you to renew it.

What happens if I don’t renew a domain name?

If you allow a domain name to expire, it will be disabled a day later. However, you can still renew it for up to 30 days after the expiration date. Just follow the normal renewal instructions.

What happens after 30 days?

If you don’t renew a domain name within 30 days after it expires, we’ll delete it from our system within the following 10 days. After that, we’ll no longer have control of the domain name, and you’ll no longer be able to renew it normally.

The central domain name registry will then hold it in a non-working state for about 30 additional days. This is called the “redemption period”.

During the redemption period, we can reactivate a domain name for you by manually notifying the central registry that the domain name was deleted by mistake. However, the registry charges a $40.00 fee for this (in addition to the domain name renewal fee). Because of that, renewing a domain name during this period is usually still possible, but costs an extra $40.00. You can contact us to start this process.

If you want to renew a domain name that’s in the redemption period, but you don’t want to pay the extra fee, you may be interested in our watchlist service, which is free but doesn’t guarantee that you'll get it back.

What happens after the redemption period?

After the 30 day redemption period, the central registry will make the domain name available to the general public after about 5 to 7 more days.

At that time, anyone will be able to register it again through any company. Including all the times above, this happens approximately 70-85 days after the original expiration date.

Again, our watchlist service may help you recover a domain name at this point (but can’t guarantee it).

A short summary

Here’s a summary of the information above. Keep in mind that the times can vary by a day or two, depending on the registry.

• Up to 30 days after expiration: Grace period. The domain name stops working, but you can still renew it using our My Account control panel.
• 31-40 days after expiration: We delete the domain name. You might still be able to renew it, but it can be deleted at any time, moving to the redemption period.
• 41-70 days after expiration: Redemption period. In the event of a mistaken deletion, the domain name can still be renewed by the original owner by paying an extra fee to the central registry. Contact us if you need this service.
• 71-77 days after expiration: Pending deletion. The domain name will not work, and nobody — not even the original owner — can renew or register it.
• 78 days after expiration: General availability. The domain name becomes available for anyone to register, through any domain name registration company.