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Free domain expiry checker: When does a domain expire?

Look up a domain’s expiry date, registrar and age from the registry’s own records (RDAP, or WHOIS where there is none).

Checked from Stockholm, Sweden · Free, no sign-up

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//_01 Where the date comes from

How to check when a domain expires

Every registration has an expiry date in the registry that runs the domain’s ending, such as Verisign for .com. The checker above asks that registry over RDAP, the structured successor to WHOIS, and falls back to WHOIS where a registry has no RDAP. It shows the expiry date, when the domain was first registered and the registrar that manages it.

On a computer you can ask the same question with the whois command, for example whois example.com in a terminal. Your registrar’s dashboard shows the date too, along with whether automatic renewal is on and which card it will charge.

If the expiry date has passed, the domain has expired. If the checker finds no registration at all, the domain is not registered, or it was deleted after expiring and may be free to register.

//_02 After the expiry date

What happens when a domain expires

  1. Day 0

    Expiry date

    The registration runs out. Unless it renews automatically, many registrars point the domain to a parking page within days, and the website and email stop working.

  2. Up to 45 days

    Renewal grace period

    The owner can still renew at the normal price. How long the registrar allows varies, and some stop much sooner than the registry does.

  3. 30 days

    Redemption period

    The domain is marked for deletion. Only the last owner can get it back, through the registrar, for a restore fee on top of the renewal.

  4. 5 days

    Pending delete

    Nobody can renew or restore it any more. The registry deletes it at the end.

  5. After that

    Available again

    Anyone can register it, and expired domains with traffic or links are often caught within seconds.

These are the stages for generic domains such as .com, .net and .org. Country domains such as .se, .de or .co.uk follow their own registry’s rules, with different periods and fees.

Don’t rely on remembering the date

Automatic renewal fails quietly when a card expires or an invoice goes to an old address. Domain monitoring checks the expiry date twice a day and reminds you 30, 14, 7 and 1 days ahead and on the day itself. Certificates expire too: the SSL certificate checker shows when.

Questions

How do I check if a domain has expired?

Look it up above. If the expiry date is in the past, the registration has run out, even if the website still loads for a few days. A domain the registry no longer knows was deleted after expiring and may be free to register again.

What happens when a domain expires?

The website and email stop working within days, as the registrar points the domain elsewhere. Most registries then hold it for 30 to 90 days, when renewing costs extra, before anyone can register it.

Why is there no expiry date for some domains?

Some registries, such as DENIC for .de, don’t publish expiry dates. Ask your registrar, and make sure the domain renews automatically with a card that won’t expire first.

What is RDAP?

The newer, structured replacement for WHOIS that registries run for their domains. We use it where it exists and fall back to WHOIS for the rest, including .se, .nu and .io.

How do I get warned before a domain expires?

A domain monitor on Uptimecheck watches the expiry date and reminds you 30, 14, 7 and 1 days ahead, and on the day itself. It checks the domain’s email records too.

Glossary Domain expiry

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