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Last revised: 2026-05-13 10:47:20
On Aug. 31, 2013, ICANN adopted the Expired Registration Recovery Policy, which requires registrars to disclose important information to Registrants and prospective customers about expiration notices, fees, and redemption procedures (for more information click here).
This article contains links to all required elements in the new policy. Below information is based on .com domain names.
1. What happens after domain names expire?
Once a domain name expires, it goes through few stages before being released to the general public. Hostinger sends five renewal emails to the Registered Name Holder prior to the expiration date. If the registrant pays the domain renewal invoice before expiration, the domain is renewed automatically.
Days after expiration may vary depending on TLD.
| Day from expiration | Action |
| Day 0 |
The domain name can be renewed manually by the registrant at no extra cost (for a standard fee) for the next 30 days.
|
| Day 26 |
Domain goes to auction, registrant can still manually renew the domain at no extra cost (for a standard fee). Domains protected with Domain Shield service are not auctioned. |
| Day 31 |
IF no active bids in the auction, the domain name can be renewed by the registrant for standard fee plus the cost of redemption fee. Once there is a bid in the auction, the domain is removed from your account and cannot be renewed anymore.
|
| Day 37 |
Domain goes to a final closeout auction. Unless there's a pending purchase of the domain, the registrant can still manually renew the domain for the standard fee plus the applicable redemption fee. Registrant can't renew the domain if a purchase is pending. Once there is a purchase of the domain, the domain is removed from your account and cannot be renewed anymore.
|
| Day 41 |
Final closeout auction ends. Unless there was a purchase of the domain, the registrant can still manually renew the domain for the standard fee plus the applicable redemption fee.
|
| Day 74 |
Domain is removed from your account and can't be renewed any more. The registrant may be able to register the domain name after the registry has released it, but we can't advise when the registry will release a domain name for registration.
|
A registrant may renew an expired domain name at no extra cost during the period indicated in the table above. Afterwards, the original registrant can attempt to redeem the domain up until day 74 from expiration. The redemption fee of the most domains currently is $80.00 USD + Renewal Fee + VAT (.com.co 180 USD + Renewal Fee + VAT, .frl 150 USD + Renewal Fee + VAT, .store 120 USD + Renewal Fee + VAT, .ws 120 USD + Renewal Fee + VAT) and is subject to change under the terms of the Domain Name Registration Agreement. If you do not redeem your domain name prior to the end of the indicated period, the Registry will release your name and it will become available for registration on a first-come-first-served basis. For certain ccTLDs (.ru, .dk, .hu, .nu, .pl and .se) there is no Redemption Grace Period.
For .com domain names, whose registrar is Hosting Concepts B.V. (Openprovider), Realtime Register B.V., Gransy, s.r.o., INWX GMBH, Name SRS AB, Metaregistrar BV (you can always check your domain name registrar information in WHOIS Lookup), you will have a 10-days Renewal Grace Period calculated from the domain expiration date, during which you may renew your domain name at no extra cost (for a standard fee). If you fail to implement the renewal before the end of indicated period, the domain name will be deleted and you also run the risk of having your domain name being acquired by a third party. If you wish to restore a .com domain after the 10 days Renewal Grace Period, please contact our Customer Support to check if there are any possibilities for your domain name to be restored.
2. What is our process for handling expired domain names?
The process we, the registrar, follow for expired domain names depends on your domain name extensions and their renewal settings. After expiration, we send at least two emails to remind you to renew your domain names.
If your domain names are set to automatically renew, we attempt to renew the registrations for you 27 days before expiration.
If you set your domain names to manually renew and you let your domain names expire, we notify you via email again on the day of expiration.
For expired .com, .net, .org, .info, .biz, .us, .name or .mobi domain name registrations, we hold your domain name for approximately 60-70 days before canceling it.
3. Automatic renewal
If your domain name is set to automatically renew, we try to charge you 27 days before your domain name registration expires.
4. Manual renewal
If your domain name is not set to automatically renew, when your domain name registration expires, we proceed with the following steps before canceling it:
- On the day of your domain name registration's expiration date, we notify you of the domain name registration's expiration. You can manually renew your domain name.
- On the 31st day after expiration, your domain name remains on hold but becomes subject to a redemption fee. Unless conditions indicated in section 1 of this Policy exist, you can manually renew your domain name, subject to any applicable redemption fees.
- On the 74th day after expiration, we cancel your domain name. We delete all services associated with the domain name.
The registry might hold the domain name before releasing it for general registration.