Domain registrations expire and must be renewed to keep your website online. Here's how to manage domain renewals and prevent accidental expiry.
How domain expiration works
When you register a domain, you're paying for a registration period (usually 1–10 years). Your domain is active for that time, then expires on a set date. If not renewed, the domain returns to the registry and becomes available for anyone to register.
Timeline:
- Active period — your domain works normally
- Expiry date approaches — you'll receive renewal reminders (typically 30–60 days before)
- Expiry date — your domain registration ends
- Grace period — typically 30–40 days after expiry (varies by registrar); domain still inactive but can be renewed at normal price
- Redemption period — 30–60 more days; can only be renewed at a higher redemption fee
- Released — domain becomes available for anyone to register
Renew before expiry
The easiest way to renew is before your domain expires.
Step 1: Log into your client portal
- Go to your client portal
- Navigate to Domains
- Look for domains approaching expiry (usually flagged with an expiry date or warning)
Step 2: Initiate renewal
- Find the domain you want to renew
- Click Renew or Add years
- Choose how many years you want to add (1–10 years)
- Review the renewal cost
Step 3: Complete payment
- Proceed to checkout
- Enter your payment method
- Confirm the renewal
Your domain registration period is now extended. The new expiry date appears in your domain details.
Enable auto-renewal (recommended)
Auto-renewal automatically renews your domain shortly before it expires, so you never have to think about it.
How to enable auto-renewal
- Log into your client portal
- Navigate to Domains
- Click on the domain you want to auto-renew
- Look for the Auto-renewal setting
- Toggle it On or Enable
- Save the changes
Your domain will now renew automatically. Make sure your account has a valid payment method on file.
Auto-renewal benefits
- Never lose your domain — renewal happens automatically before expiry
- No surprise downtime — your website stays online uninterrupted
- No interruption to email — email continues to work
- One less thing to manage — set and forget
What happens after your domain expires
If your domain expires and you don't renew immediately:
Within 30–40 days (Grace Period):
- Domain is inactive; website and email don't work
- You can renew at the standard renewal price
- Renewal is processed immediately
Within 30–60 days after grace period (Redemption Period):
- Domain is still inactive
- Renewal costs a higher redemption fee
- Redemption can take 1–3 business days to process
After redemption period expires:
- Domain is released to the public
- It becomes available for anyone to register
- You've lost it permanently
Prevent expiry
Best practices:
- Enable auto-renewal — the single easiest safeguard
- Keep a valid payment method — auto-renewal fails without a valid card
- Monitor expiry notices — read renewal reminders from your registrar
- Update your registrant email — critical notices go there (see Get your EPP/transfer code and enable domain privacy)
Renew an expired domain
If your domain has expired, you can still renew it during the grace and redemption periods.
### Grace period (within 30–40 days of expiry)
Renew at the standard renewal price:
- Log into your client portal
- Navigate to Domains
- Find your expired domain (it should still be listed)
- Click Renew
- Complete payment
Your domain is reactivated immediately.
### Redemption period (30–60 days after grace expires)
Renewal costs significantly more:
- Contact your registrar's support team
- Request redemption renewal of your domain
- Accept the higher redemption fee
- Complete payment
Redemption can take 1–3 business days to process, during which your domain is still inactive.
Multi-year renewal
When you renew, you can add multiple years at once:
- Paying for 3–5 years upfront can be more cost-effective
- Locks in the current renewal price
- Reduces the frequency of renewal notices
- Extends your expiry date further into the future
Check your domain's expiry date
- Log into your client portal
- Go to Domains
- Find your domain in the list
- The expiry date (also called "Renewal date") is shown in the details
You can also use an online WHOIS lookup tool to check any domain's registration status (though private domains won't show personal details).
Troubleshooting
Auto-renewal failed but I wasn't notified:
- Check your billing method — the card may have expired or been declined
- Log in and manually renew (see "Renew before expiry" section above)
- Update your payment method and re-enable auto-renewal
My domain expired and I want it back:
- If within the grace period (30–40 days), renew immediately at standard price
- If in the redemption period, contact support for higher redemption pricing
- After that, the domain is gone and cannot be recovered
I'm not receiving renewal reminders:
- Check your registrant email address (update it if needed)
- Check your spam/junk folder
- Enable auto-renewal so you don't rely on reminders
For questions about your domain's specific expiry date or renewal options, check your client portal or contact support.