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My domain expired! Is there a Renewal Grace Period?

Most likely, the answer is yes. A "Renewal Grace Period" is the time during which a domain owner can renew an expired domain. Most domain extensions offer a renewal grace period of up to 30 days. For example, this is the life-cycle of .COM, which has a 30-day renewal grace period:

• 2015/05/01 - Your domain is registered
• 2016/05/01 - Your domain expires
• 2016/05/01 - 2016/05/31 Renewal Grace Period (renewals are regular renewal price)
• 2016/05/31 - 2016/07/10 Redemption Period

To see the renewal grace period of each of our domain extensions, visit our TLD page and look at the "Renew (Grace Period/days)" column.

If you do not renew during the grace period, the domain will be deleted and would no longer be controlled by Dynadot. This is known as the "Redemption Period," which is typically 30 days. If you wish to re-claim the domain, the process will be more expensive and time-consuming, as Dynadot will be required to submit paperwork and payment to the central registry. Our restore prices are listed on our individual TLD pages under the "Domain Information" section. Please note that most of this money goes straight to the central registry. Domains in redemption can only be restored by the current registrant and only with the listed registrar.

About 5 days after the redemption period ends, the domain is dropped from the central registry and becomes available to the general public. Domains are sold on a first come, first serve basis. High-value domains will go quickly.

Two important exceptions:

• Some domain extensions do not offer renewal and/or redemption periods or offer them for different lengths of time. Please use the above links to check on your specific extension.
• Some expired domains will be sold at auction in the Expired Auctions in our Marketplace. If this is the case with your domain, there will be no redemption period; though you will still have your full renewal grace period to renew before the domain is lost entirely. If the expired auction is ongoing and the domain has any active bids, it will not be possible to restore the domain name, however, you do have the option to participate in the auction by placing a bid.

The best way to preserve your domain name is to set up auto-renew or renew early. Auto-renew will automatically renew your domain (as long as your payment method goes through) and with early renewals, no time is lost. Using either method can save a lot of future headaches. Keeping your contact information up-to-date is also important as Dynadot will send all expiration notice emails to the address on file. You can also set up a separate renewal email.

For more information regarding the full domain expiration process, click here.