Domain names are renewed so rarely that it is easy to forget they expire at all. The card on file has been replaced, the reminders go to an email address nobody checks any more, or the person who registered the domain left the business years ago. Then the website and email stop working on the same morning.
The good news is that an expired domain is almost never lost immediately. There is a recovery window, but it is shorter than people assume, it can get more expensive the longer it runs, and the website and email stop working well before the domain is actually gone.
.uk domains
Domains ending in .uk, including .co.uk and .org.uk, are run by Nominet, which sets the same timeline whichever registrar you use:
- Expiry to day 30. The domain carries on working as normal and can be renewed.
- Day 30. The domain is suspended and stops resolving, so the website and email stop. It can still be renewed, which brings it back.
- Day 90. The last point at which the domain can be renewed. After this, Nominet starts cancelling it.
- Day 95. The domain is released and anyone can register it.
Nominet publishes lists of domains that are due to be released, so a domain with any traffic or links pointing at it is often registered by someone else the moment it becomes available. If you are moving a .uk domain to a different provider, transferring a .uk domain explains how that works.
.com and other generic domains
For .com, .net, .org and the newer generic endings, the framework is set by ICANN and the details vary more between registrars:
- Auto-renew grace period, up to 45 days. The registrar decides how long it is, and the domain can still be renewed, sometimes with a late fee. At some point during this period the registrar stops the domain resolving, so the website and email stop.
- Redemption grace period, 30 days. The domain has been deleted but can still be restored through the registrar that held it. Restoring it carries a redemption fee that is usually far higher than a normal renewal.
- Pending delete, 5 days. Nobody can recover the domain. When this period ends, it is available for anyone to register.
What stops working, and when
The website is the obvious casualty, but email is often the more serious one. Once the domain stops resolving, mail sent to your addresses is not delivered, and depending on how the sender’s mail server treats the failure, the sender may not find out for some time. Password reset emails for your other accounts stop arriving too, and that can include the account you need to log in to in order to renew the domain.
How to make sure it never happens
- Turn on auto-renew and keep the payment card up to date. Most expiries are a failed card payment, not a decision.
- Check the contact email. Renewal reminders go to the email address on the account. Make it one that someone reads, and ideally one that is not on the same domain, so the reminders still arrive if the domain has already stopped working.
- Renew for longer. Registering or renewing for several years at a time means fewer occasions for anything to go wrong.
- Keep a list. Businesses often own more domains than they realise: old brand names, misspellings, campaign sites. A simple list of each domain, where it is registered and when it expires takes ten minutes and prevents most surprises.
If a domain registered with us has expired, open a ticket as soon as you notice. The earlier in the timeline it is caught, the simpler it is to put right, and for many domain endings the cheaper too.
