What Happens After a Domain Expires

Original work by Renfei; please credit the source when reposting. After a domain expires, it doesn’t fail immediately — you can still renew and get it back. Today I’ll explain how a domain registrar handles an expired domain.

Phase 1: Within 1–45 days after expiration, the domain is in the registrar-hold state; Whois status: REGISTRAR-HOLD.

Phase 2: Within 46–75 days after expiration, the domain is in the redemption period; Whois status: REDEMPTION-PERIOD.

Phase 3: Within 76–81 days after expiration, the domain is in the pending-delete period; Whois status: PENDING-DELETE.

In Phase 1 you can renew and use it normally. If it reaches Phase 2, you need to pay a higher redemption fee to redeem the domain. If it reaches Phase 3, there’s nothing you can do — it has already entered the delete state, so you’ll have to pay to backorder it during deletion.

For example:

Domain: ren-fei.com Expiration: June 29, 2013 From June 30, 2013, the domain’s NS records will be deleted by the system and the domain can no longer be resolved. August 9, 2013: high-price redemption begins. September 7, 2013: enters a 6-day delete period; after 6 days the domain will be deleted and open for others to register.

Domain Status Explanations

International domains

Active: normal state. Registry-hold: registry hold — the domain is not resolved and cannot be used normally, but can be renewed. Registry-lock: registry lock — the domain is resolved and used normally, cannot be changed, but can be renewed. Registrar-hold: registrar hold — the registrar has paused it; resolution stops and it cannot be used normally, but can be renewed. Registrar-lock: registrar lock — can be used normally, cannot be changed or transferred. Redemptionperiod: redemption period — after a domain expires, the registrar requests deletion and the domain enters the redemption period; for 30 days in this period it cannot be used normally, but you can pay a redemption fee ($40) to restore it, otherwise it enters the delete period. Pendingrestore: after the domain enters the redemption period, the registrar requests restoration; after payment it enters the restore period, and once the report is submitted the domain returns to normal. Pendingdelete: after the 30-day redemption period, the domain enters a 5-day delete period; during deletion no one else may register it, and this status means the domain is about to be deleted and released. Inactive: the domain is not resolved and cannot be used normally. Usually caused by missing or incomplete DNS entries; at least one DNS must be filled in for normal resolution. Status: clientTransferProhibited — domain transfer prohibited. Status: clientDeleteProhibited — domain deletion prohibited. Status: clientUpdateProhibited — domain update prohibited.

Domestic domains

Active: normal state. Resolution is normal; can be changed and transferred. Ok: normal state. Renewal succeeded. Pendingtransfer: transfer-in progress. A new registrar has submitted a transfer-in request and is waiting for the original registrar to approve the outbound transfer. In this state no information can be changed, but resolution is normal. Inactive: abnormal state. The domain is not resolved and cannot be used normally. PendingDelete: pending delete. The domain is in arrears and resolution has stopped. This state is kept for 15 days from expiration; after 15 days the domain is deleted. ClientTransferProhibited: the registrar restricts transfer.

Quoted content: deletion and re-registration times for .CN, .COM, and .NET domains

.CN is deleted 16 days after expiration — around 4:00 AM Beijing time (deletion usually starts around 4:30). .COM is deleted after about 75 days — starting around 2:00 AM Beijing time and running to 4:00 AM, usually deleted then. .NET is deleted after about 65 days — starting around 2:00 AM Beijing time and running to 4:00 AM, usually deleted then.

In January 2003, VeriSign added 3 fields to its Registry Whois (.COM and .NET): Status, Creation Date, Expiration Date. The Status field currently has 8 known states:

1. ACTIVE: active state. Set by the Registry; the domain can be changed by the Registrar; can be renewed; at least one DNS is assigned.
2. REGISTRY-LOCK: registry lock. Set by the registry: the domain cannot be changed or deleted by the registrar; the registry must clear this state before the registrar can change domain info; the domain can be renewed; the domain’s DNS can be included in the (root) zone (usable normally).
3. REGISTRY-HOLD: registry hold. Set by the registry: the domain cannot be changed or deleted by the registrar; the registry must clear this state before the registrar can change domain info; the domain can be renewed; the domain is not included in the (root) zone (cannot be used normally).
4. REGISTRAR-LOCK: registrar lock. Set by the domain’s original registrar: the domain cannot be changed or deleted; the registrar must clear this state before domain info can be changed; the domain can be renewed. It is included in the (root) zone (usable normally).
5. REGISTRAR-HOLD: registrar hold. Set by the domain’s original registrar: the domain cannot be changed or deleted; the registrar must clear this state before domain info can be changed; the domain can be renewed. It is not included in the (root) zone (cannot be used normally).
6. REDEMPTIONPERIOD: grace period. After the registrar requests deletion from the registry, the registry sets this state — provided the domain has been registered for more than 5 days (if registered less than 5 days, it is deleted immediately); the domain is not included in the (root) zone (cannot be used normally); it cannot be changed or cleared, only restored; any change or other request from another registrar is rejected; this state lasts at most 30 days.
7. PENDINGRESTORE: restore pending. After the registrar requests restoration of a domain in REDEMPTIONPERIOD, the registry sets this state; the domain is included in the (root) zone (usable normally); any change or other request from the registrar is rejected; within 7 days the registrar must provide the registry with the required restoration documents. If provided within 7 days, the domain is set to ACTIVE, otherwise it returns to REDEMPTIONPERIOD.
8. PENDINGDELETE: delete pending. If, while a domain is in REDEMPTIONPERIOD, the registrar does not request restoration, the domain is placed in PENDINGDELETE and any registrar request is rejected; it is cleared after 5 days.

.COM/.NET domain states include:

(1) ACTIVE (active): in this state the domain can be used normally, renewed normally, transferred, and its DNS and info changed; the user can also set a lock state. (2) Customer-LOCK (customer lock): can be set by the user when ACTIVE, and cancelled by the user; in this state the domain works normally, renews normally, cannot be transferred, and its DNS and info cannot be changed; the registrar can also cancel it. (3) Registrar-LOCK (registrar lock): set by the registrar, cannot be cancelled by the user; in this state the domain works normally, renews normally, cannot be transferred, and its DNS and info cannot be changed; the registrar can cancel it. (4) Autorenew-HOLD (arrears hold): set by the registrar, cannot be cancelled by the user; the domain is set to this state due to expiration arrears; in this state it cannot be used normally, cannot be changed or deleted; must be renewed before this state clears automatically. (5) Registrar-HOLD (registrar hold): set by the registrar, cannot be cancelled by the user; in this state the domain cannot be used normally, cannot be deleted, cannot be transferred, its DNS and info cannot be changed, but it can be renewed; the registrar must clear this state.

2. .ORG domain states include:

(1) OK (normal): in this state the domain can be used normally, renewed normally, transferred, and its DNS and info changed; this state does not coexist with the other states below. (2) Customer-DeleteProhibited (customer delete restriction): set by the user; the user can cancel it; in this state the domain works normally, is managed normally, renews normally, cannot be deleted; the registrar can also cancel it; if the domain falls into arrears it is deleted automatically per the delete cycle. (3) Registrar-DeleteProhibited (registrar delete restriction): set by the registrar; in this state the domain works normally, is managed normally, renews normally, cannot be deleted; the user cannot cancel it; if the domain falls into arrears it is deleted automatically per the delete cycle. (4) Customer-TransferProhibited (customer transfer restriction): set by the user; the user can cancel it; in this state it cannot be transferred, but works normally, is managed normally, and renews normally; the registrar can cancel it. (5) Registrar-TransferProhibited (registrar transfer restriction): set by the registrar; in this state it cannot be transferred, but works normally, is managed normally, and renews normally; the user cannot cancel it. (6) Customer-UpdateProhibited (customer update restriction): set by the user; the user can cancel it; in this state its info and DNS cannot be changed, but it works normally and renews normally; the registrar can cancel it. (7) Registrar-UpdateProhibited (registrar update restriction): set by the registrar; in this state its info and DNS cannot be changed, but it works normally and renews normally; the user cannot cancel it. (8) Autorenew-HOLD (arrears hold): set by the registrar, cannot be cancelled by the user; the domain is set to this state due to expiration arrears; in this state it cannot be used normally, cannot be changed or deleted; must be renewed before this state clears automatically. (9) Registrar-HOLD (registrar hold): set by the registrar, cannot be cancelled by the user; in this state the domain cannot be used normally, cannot be deleted, cannot be transferred, its DNS and info cannot be changed, but it can be renewed; the registrar must clear this state.