Life Cycle of a Domain Name

The domain name registration process is a fairly simple one, but sometimes catches people out who do not take note of their expiration date. The following info will help you better understand the process of registration.

Available

A domain is publically available for a registration period of up to 10 years.

Active – 1 to 10 years

A domain name is registered and is in an active state. The registrant may renew the domain name at any time during this period, ensuring continued ownership of the domain.

Expired – 0 to 40 days

Within 24 hours of a domain name exceeding its expiration date the domain will be de-activated. You will no longer have control over the nameservers, which default to the registrar. The domain name may be renewed within 40 days without any further charges other than the standard registration fee.

Redemption Period – 30 days

Once the expired period is over the domain name will enter a 30 day redemption period. Whois information will be deleted and the domain name will remain inactive. The domain may be renewed by the previous registrant for a price of around $180 plus renewal fees.

Delete – 5 days

Five days after the redemption period the domain will be deleted from the registry and made available to the public for anyone to register at standard domain name rates.

Lessons to learn.

Don’t let your domain reach the Expired state, always renew before this time to ensure you keep total control over your domains.