When a domain registration expires, your options for renewal vary based on when your domain expired. On Aug. 31, 2013, ICANN adopted the Expired Registration Recovery Policy (ERRP), which requires registrars to disclose important information to Registrants and prospective customers about expiration notices, fees and redemption procedures. All required information and disclosures currently exist in various locations throughout our website. However, as an aid to Registrants, this article contains links to all required elements in the new policy.
Each domain name extension and its registry rules can affect the renewal process once a domain has expired. Some domains, such as ccTLDs, may have special requirements for renewals.
We’ll send multiple emails to notify you of expiration within the 30 days prior and 30 days after the expiration date of your domains.
Expiration timeline
| Days after domain expiration | What happens | What you can do |
| Day of expiration | First attempt to renew the domain. | Domain can be manually renewed in your account at the standard renewal price. |
| Day 5 | Second attempt to renew the domain. If renewal fails, we park the domain name. This means DNS is interrupted and your email/website will stop working. | Domain can be manually renewed in your account at the standard renewal price. |
| Day 12 | Third attempt to renew the domain. | Domain can be manually renewed in your account at the standard renewal price. |
| Day 19 | Domain is put on hold and is no longer active in your account. | Domain can be manually renewed in your account with applicable redemption fee. |
| Day 26 | Domain is put up for expired domain auction | You can manually recover your expired domain name with applicable redemption fee , or place a bid on the domain through auction. |
| Day 30 | If there are no active bids on the domain, it will remain in your account in Expired status. | You can manually recover your expired domain name with applicable redemption fee , or place a bid on the domain through auction. |
| Day 36 | If there are no backorders and no bidders in the domain name auction, we list the domain name in a final closeout auction. | You can manually recover your expired domain name with applicable redemption fee , or place a bid on the domain through auction. |
| Day 41 | All auctions end. | Domain is no longer available to bid on. |
| Day 42 | If there were no successful auction bids or backorders, the domain is removed from your account and returned to the registry | You’ll no longer be able to bid on or renew your domain name. You may be able to register the domain after the registry has released it. We’re unable to advise on when the registry might release a domain for registration. |
Some domains, such as ccTLDs, may have special requirements for renewals.
Related steps
- Make sure you enable auto renew to continue your domain registration uninterrupted.
More info
- For full details on ICANN’s policies, you can review the Registrant Rights & Responsibilities Under the 2009 RAA.
- ICANN Registrant Benefits & Responsibilities (2013) will be determined upon publication by ICANN.
What is DNS?
Domain Name System, or DNS, is the backbone of your online presence. Every domain name uses DNS to control how visitors find your website and how you receive email. You can think of your domain name as a street address, and DNS acts as your GPS. Visitors won’t be able to find your address if the GPS isn’t able to provide the correct directions. This means that if your DNS isn’t correct, your website and email won’t work the way they should.
When you type in a domain name in your internet browser, DNS works to find the information for that domain. Domains are a friendly way for us to remember how to get to a website, but underneath that friendly name, computers talk to each other using numbers. These numbers form Internet Protocol, or IP addresses, which act as the street address of your website working under your domain name.
When you type a domain name in your address bar to visit a website, your computer is looking for the IP address of that website so it can load the website for you. This is DNS in action — you type in the street address (the domain name), DNS finds the directions using IP address (the GPS), and the internet loads the website you’re visiting.
In order to get you to your destination, DNS contains three main pieces to work properly: nameservers, zone files and records. Nameservers hold the zone file and the zone file holds the records. The records are the part of DNS that explains where your website lives or where you get your email, using IP addresses, but the records won’t work if the nameservers aren’t set up correctly
Manage DNS zone files
How and where you add, edit or delete your DNS records depends on where your DNS is hosted. This is determined by where your nameservers are pointing. There are three possible options for where you’ll manage your DNS:
- Your domain is registered with GoDaddy and is using our nameservers: you’ll manage DNS settings in your GoDaddy account.
- Your domain is not registered with GoDaddy, but is using our nameservers: you’ll manage DNS settings in your GoDaddy account. This is usually the case if you’re hosting a website with us, or using DNS Hosting.
- Your domain is registered with any company, but is not using our nameservers: you won’t manage DNS with us at all. You’ll need to work with your DNS and/or website hosting company instead.
If your DNS is with us, you can add, edit or delete DNS records within your DNS Manager.
- A record: The primary DNS record used to connect your domain to an IP address that directs visitors to your website.
- Subdomain: Any DNS record that’s on a prefix of your domain name such as blog.coolexample.com. A subdomain can be created using an A record that points to the IP address (the most common), a CNAME that points to a URL, or even an MX record.
- CNAME: A type of record that also adds a prefix to your domain name and is sometimes referred to as a type of subdomain. A CNAME can’t point to an IP address. It can only point to another domain name or URL address. For example, you can create a CNAME for store.coolexample.com that points to a different URL, such as a store built with Shopify.
- MX record: Manages your email address and makes sure your email messages get to your inbox. Different email services use different MX records, and email with GoDaddy is automatically set up for you.
- TXT record: Allows you to verify domain ownership and setup email sender policies.
- SPF record: A type of TXT record that lets you set up email sender policies. This is an advanced type of DNS record.
NS record: Contains information about your nameservers. Use these records to identify which nameservers you should use if your domain is not registered with GoDaddy, but you want to manage your DNS with us. This is an advanced custom DNS record.
