What is a domain name's life cycle?

 

Life Cycle of a Domain

 

It is important to know: When you register a domain name, you do not actually buy it, in fact, you are paying for the right of using the domain name for a particular period of time.

Once this period terminates, the registration expires. Before this happens, you will be notified - and have the right to renew the domain name for an additional period.

The life cycles of a domain name may differ, dependent on the type of domain, and how the relevant registry is handling it.

Please note: This is a technical overview of what periods may add up to a domain's lifetime cycle. Joker.com may have different periods, please always check Joker.com's Terms & Conditions regarding this.

Below is illustrated, how the life cycle of a typical generic top-level domain looks like:

 

Life Cycle of a Typical gTLD Domain Name

 

LifeCycle

(source of picture: ICANN.org)

Registration (1-10 years)

A domain name usually can be registered for a span of 1 year up to 10 years.
In practice, this usually means that 10 years is only an option when ordering a new domain since domains usually have a period >0 at the time of renewal.

Auto-Renew Grace Period (1-90 Days)

This is the date when the registration period is over. Many individuals have a misconception that a domain would become available after that date, which definitely isn’t the fact. Once the domain reaches the expiration stage, there are a few other stages before it can be re-registered.

Upon expiration, the domain name may become inactive, though the registrant can still renew it with regular renewal charges. The domain would still stay there in your domain control panel. This stage of the domain life cycle is termed the auto-renew grace period which would usually be anywhere between 1 to 45 days (Please find below the Joker.com TLDs Life-Periods). This period varies between registries and registrars.

Some registrars terminate a domain immediately after the expiration date since grace periods are not mandatory, but just a gesture of goodwill.

 

Redemption Grace Period (up to 90 days)

 

Next comes the redemption stage, ie. when a domain isn’t renewed by the owner during the grace period, it enters into redemption. Please find the detailed description here: What is a Redemption Grace Period (RGP)?

A typical generic top-level domain resides in the Redemption for up to 30 days before moving on to the next stage. Some country domains (ccTLDs) have longer periods.

 

Pending Delete

 

At this stage, there isn’t any possibility for you to renew it. The registrar sends a command to the Registry for deleting the domain, the domain now enters the last phase of the life cycle called pending delete. The domain stays in this stage usually for about 5 days.

 

Released / Available to All

 

As it suggests, the domain becomes available to all and there isn’t any control over anyone.

 

 

These are the approximate Joker.com TLDs Life-Cycle Periods *):

 

 TLD  Auto-Renew/Expired Grace Period (days)
 Redemption Grace Period (days)
  Pending Delete (days)
 DE  25   40    0 
 EU  20   40    0 
 AT  0    59    0 
 NL  20   40   0 
 UK  89   90    90 
CH, LI  0    27    40 
 all other  29   30    5 

 

 

 *) These data are only indicative. The exact times are specified by the registries and may vary. On the other hand, there are technical requirements for some deadlines that mean processing within one of the above-mentioned periods, so this can be shortened by a few hours. Therefore, please never wait until the theoretical maximum, e.g. the "expired grace period", before renewing a domain.

Tags: delete, Redemption Grace Period, renewal, RGP

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