How to never lose a domain to expiry
Domains are rarely lost on purpose. The card on file expires, the reminder emails go to an address nobody reads, or the person who registered it has left. Then the website and email stop, and some weeks later the name is open for anyone to register. Drop-catching services watch for exactly this.
What happens after the expiry date
For .com and most other generic domains the steps are roughly these. Country domains such as .uk, .de or .dk have their own rules, so check with your registrar.
| When | What happens | Can you get it back? |
|---|---|---|
| Expiry day | The registrar may stop the website and email, or replace them with a parking page. | Yes, by renewing. |
| Up to about 45 days after | Grace period. The length depends on the registrar; some keep it short. | Yes, usually at the normal price. |
| The next 30 days | Redemption period. The domain is out of your account but held by the registry. | Yes, with a restore fee, often around 80 to 200 USD. |
| 5 days after that | Pending delete. | No. |
| Then | The domain is released. | Only by registering it again, if nobody else does first. |
Some registrars also auction expired domains during the grace period. Read your registrar's terms if a domain matters to you.
Five settings that prevent it
- Auto-renew on for every domain you want to keep.
- A card that will not expire soon, or a balance on the account. Update it the day you get a new card.
- An account email that someone reads, on a different domain from the one that might lapse. If your only email is on the expiring domain, the warnings stop arriving when you need them most.
- Transfer lock on. It stops someone with a stolen login from moving the domain away. It is free and you can switch it off when you want to transfer.
- Renew important domains for several years at a time. It costs the same per year and leaves more room for mistakes.
Keep the dates in your calendar
Paste all your domains into Warnwell, then press "Renewal calendar (.ics)". You get a file with two entries per domain: a reminder 30 days before it expires and one on the day. Open it with Google Calendar, Outlook or Apple Calendar. Some country registries, for example .io and .dk, do not publish the date; for those, read it from your registrar's account page.
Updated 2026-10-16.