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Help Center / My domain expired! Can I get it back?

Domain names are registered in one year increments (up to a maximum of 10 years). Most people will commonly renew their domains every year. A lot can happen in a year (let alone 10 years); contact email addresses may change, your bank may issue you a new Credit/Debit Card number, your phone number may have changed, you may have moved, etc. When such changes occur you may not have received your invoices for your annual renewal (we bill 30-60 days before expiration), or your Credit/Debit Card on file for auto-pay may have expired. In such cases we will make every effort to contact you at your last known email address, phone number, and physical address, but unless we successfully get a hold of you to update your payment information your domain name may not be renewed on time.

It happens sometimes. Besides renewing your domain for multiple years at a time, or just remembering to keep us updated to any changes in your contact information or billing information, your domain will enter a 30-day Grace Period after it expires. During this Grace Period your domain can be renewed for it’s normal cost. It’s all good…let out a big sigh of relief.

However, after the 30-day Grace Period your domain is held by our Registrar in a Redemption Period. Registrars can hold an expired domain for up to a maximum of one year after expiration in this Redemption Period. During this time we can “redeem” your domain, but at whatever increased cost the Registrar is asking for the domain. In many cases your domain can be redeemed for around $150 (which includes a 1 year renewal), but if your domain is a high-profile domain the cost to redeem may be $5000 or more.

In such cases, you have three options:

  1. You can pay the Redemption fee. If your domain is that good and that important, then it’s probably worth it.
  2. We can back-order your domain and when it is released from the Redemption Period by the Registrar it will be automatically re-registered for you. Back-orders cost $20.00. A back-ordered domain may take anywhere from 45 days to a year before it becomes re-registered (assuming no one else pays the Redemption fee before then for your domain).
  3. We can order an alternate domain for you that is similar to your original domain. Domain registrations are $15.00 a year.

Posted in: Registration

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