The Domain Life Cycle

Every domain that is registered does through what is referred to as the Domain Life Cycle. This is the series of domain status and events that every domain will go through.

Understanding what the life cycle is will help you understand the importance of keeping your domain names renewed and up to date, as a lost domain very well may be lost forever.

The Domain Life Cycle

The Domain Life Cycle

There are five main phases of the Domain Life Cycle. While the duration of each phase varies depending on the register and the domain TLD, this guide will give you will give you a rough guide on what to expect.

Domain Available

When a domain is available, anyone can register it and claim it as their own. You (or anyone) can register the domain from an accredited domain register for your own personal or business use.

Depending on the TLD of the domain (the part after the last “.”, for example, .com or .net), there may be additional restrictions on registration. This is common with country or profession based domain TLDs, such as .ca, .uk or .lawyer.

A domain will remain in this status until someone registers it.

Duration

A domain will remain as Domain Available until someone registers it.

Functionallity

The domain will be unavailable for any use in this status.

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Domain Registered

When a domain is in the Domain Registered status, it is available to the registered owner to be used as they see fit. It can be used for many online services, such as web hosting, email or any other domain based services. As long as the domain is renewed, no one else may lay claim to this domain.

A domain will remain in this status until the domain expires and is not renewed.

Duration

A domain can be registered from between one to ten years. At no time is a domain registration to more then ten years in the future.

A domain name expiry date is the same date every year, regardless of the renewal date.

Functionallity

The domain will be available fully to the domain owner until the domain expires.

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Domain Expired

If a domain is not renewed before it’s expiry date, it will switch to the Domain Expired state. This is also referred to expiredRenew. In this phase, your domain is unavailable for use, but you will remain in control of the domain. As long as you renew the domain before it switches to the Redemption status, you can renew it at no additional cost.

Duration

A domain will remain in Domain Expired status for 30-45 days, depending on the register.

Functionallity

The domain will be unavailable for any use in this status.

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Redemption

After a domain has passed through the Domain Expired status, it will enter the Redemption status. Once in redemption, the domain may still be renewed by the registered owner, but for an additional fee. This fee is determined by the register based on the TLD.

Duration

A domain will remain in Redemption status for 10-30 days, depending on the register and TLD.

Functionallity

The domain will remain unavailable for any use in this status.

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Pending Delete

Once a domain has reached the Pending Delete status, it is essentially lost. The current register will not be able to renew the domain until it is switched to the Domain Available status. At this point, anyone can register the domain name and there is no guarantee that the previous owner will be able to register it again. Registrations on domain are first come, first served.

Duration

A domain will remain in Pending Delete status for up to 10 days.

Functionallity

The domain will be unavailable for any use in this status.

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