How domain drops work

Every day, tens of thousands of domain names reach the end of their registration and are not renewed. Most of them don't become available straight away. Generic top-level domains such as .com, .net and .org follow a set sequence of stages laid down by ICANN and the registries. Knowing those stages tells you when a name you want might come free, who can still act on it, and why the date is always an estimate.

The stages at a glance

1. 1. Registered and activeuntil expiryThe name works normally. The owner can renew at any time.
2. 2. Expired: auto-renew grace period0–45 daysThe registrar decides how long this lasts and what the owner can do.
3. 3. Redemption grace period30 daysOnly the previous owner can restore the name, usually for a fee.
4. 4. Pending delete5 daysNo one can renew or restore it.
5. 5. DroppedavailableThe registry deletes the name and anyone can register it.

These are the figures DropTicker uses for every TLD it covers (.com, .net, .org, .info, .biz and .xyz). Added up, a name can take as long as about 80 days to drop after it expires. It can also take much less, because the first stage can be very short.

1. Before expiry

A domain is registered for a fixed term, usually one or more years, through a registrar. The registry that runs the TLD keeps the central record, including the expiry date. ICANN's Expired Registration Recovery Policy requires registrars to send the owner renewal reminders before the name expires and again shortly after. Many names are renewed automatically from a saved card; the ones that drop are usually names the owner chose to let go, or forgot about.

2. Expiry and the auto-renew grace period

On the expiry date, most gTLD registries renew the name automatically and charge the registrar. The registrar then has up to 45 days, the auto-renew grace period, to either keep that renewal or delete the name and get the fee back. What the owner sees during this time depends on the registrar, not on ICANN or the registry:

• The website and email often stop working, because the registrar puts the name on clientHold or points it at a parking page.
• The owner can usually still renew, often at the normal price, for at least part of this period.
• Some registrars offer the expired name in an expired domain auction. If it sells, it goes to the buyer and never drops.
• Some registrars delete the name early, so it moves to redemption after a few days rather than weeks.

Because registrars handle this stage so differently, it is the least predictable part of the lifecycle. A quirk worth knowing: during this period, some registries already show next year's expiry date in RDAP and WHOIS, because the automatic renewal has been recorded even though the owner hasn't paid. A name that looks renewed may not be.

3. Redemption grace period

When the registrar deletes an expired name, the registry doesn't release it. Instead it enters the redemption grace period for 30 days, with the EPP status redemptionPeriod. The registry takes it out of the zone file, so it stops resolving entirely. The previous owner can still get it back through their registrar by restoring it, which usually costs a restore fee on top of the renewal. No one else can register it.

The redemption vs pending delete guide covers this stage and the next in more detail.

4. Pending delete

If nobody restores the name, it moves to pending delete(pendingDelete) for 5 days. This stage is final: the registry won't accept a renewal or restore from anyone. Once a name is in pending delete, you can be confident it will drop at the end of it, and you can work out the drop date to within about a day.

5. The drop

At the end of pending delete, the registry deletes the name and it becomes available to register on a first come, first served basis. Registries usually process deletions in batches, and the timing within the day varies by registry. Names with any obvious value are rarely available for long: specialist drop-catching services send registration requests the moment deletions start, usually on behalf of customers who placed a backorder. The backordering guide explains how that works.

Ways a name can leave the path

Not every expired name drops. A name can leave the sequence at several points:

• The owner renews during the grace period, or restores it during redemption.
• The registrar sells it at auction or transfers it to a partner before it reaches redemption.
• The name is on hold for a reason unrelated to expiry, such as a dispute or an abuse report.
• The registry or registrar uses different period lengths. The figures above are standard for the gTLDs DropTicker covers; country-code domains like .uk or .de have their own rules.

How DropTicker tracks this

DropTicker compares each day's zone file with the previous one. A name that disappears has usually just entered redemption or been put on hold. It then checks the name's status with RDAP and estimates the drop date from the stage lengths above. Names still on their way out appear on Pending Delete, sorted by estimated drop date; names that have been released appear on Recently Dropped. The methodology page explains the method and its limits.