Expiration of a domain does not mean that it immediately becomes available for a new registration. There is a post-expiry life cycle designed to give the current owner a chance to recover, but also to regulate its release to the market.
1. Life cycle of an international domain (.com, .net, .org)
For most international domains, the process follows these standard steps:
-
Grace Period: Lasts between 0 and 45 days from the expiration date. During this interval, you can renew the domain at the normal rate. The site and email will cease to function immediately upon expiration.
-
Redemption Grace Period: Follows the grace period and lasts approximately 30 days. At this stage, the domain can be recovered, but the registrar charges a significant penalty fee (much higher than the renewal fee).
-
Pending Delete: Takes about 5 days. At this stage, the domain cannot be reclaimed by the old owner and is waiting to be permanently deleted from the central database.
-
Release: After these phases (in total about 70-80 days), the domain becomes free and can be registered by anyone on a first-come, first-served basis served".
2. The case of .ro
domains
Domains .ro have a different regime, managed by ROTLD:
-
Expiration period: After the expiration date, the domain enters a suspended state.
-
Deletion deadline: As a rule, domains .ro are permanently deleted and become available for new registration after 90 days from expiration date, if not renewed.
-
Note: During this 90-day interval, the current holder has the exclusive right to renew the domain by paying the maintenance fee.
3. Why is it not recommended to wait for release?
Many users think they can let a domain expire in order to re-register it cheaper or with another company. This strategy is risky because:
-
Domain Catchers (Backordering): There are automatic services that monitor domains to be deleted and register them the millisecond they become free.
-
Loss of SEO authority: A domain that is offline for 3 months loses its positioning in Google.
4. How do you prevent domain loss?
At TicketHelp, we provide you with the necessary tools to avoid these situations:
-
Automatic notifications: We send warning emails 30, 15, 7 and 1 day before expiration.
-
Auto-Renewal: You can activate the auto-renewal option if you have a saved card or credit in your customer account.
