An expired domain does not vanish instantly — it goes through several stages. Knowing them gives you time to react if you forget to renew.
Stage 1: grace period (0-30 days after expiry)
- The domain stops working (website and email go down).
- You can renew at the normal price with no penalty.
- It is still yours — nobody else can take it.
Stage 2: redemption (30-60 days)
- The domain enters "redemption" status. Website and email are still down.
- To recover it, you have to pay a redemption fee (~€80-150 depending on the TLD), on top of the normal renewal price. It is expensive because the registrar charges for an emergency service.
Stage 3: pending delete (60-75 days)
- Renewal and redemption are no longer possible. The domain is queued to return to the market.
Stage 4: release (~day 75)
- The domain becomes available to anyone. On popular domains, specialised services ("drop catchers") buy them the second they are released.
The key takeaway: from day 1 to 30 you only pay the normal renewal. From day 31 onwards, the cost skyrockets. Our advice: enable auto renew and keep your payment method up to date — that way you avoid the risk entirely.
We send email reminders 30, 15, 7 and 1 day before expiry, and one more when it actually expires.
