The expiry, grace and redemption timeline

This picks up from you knowing where your domain is registered and that you can log in to that account. If your domain is with Hostworld, that means you can sign in at portal.hostworld.uk.

After a gTLD such as .com expires, the registry auto‑renews it the next day and a grace window of up to 45 days starts. Your registrar may cut off DNS during that window, then if you still do not renew they can delete the name, which sends it to a 30‑day Redemption Grace Period, then a 5‑day Pending Delete, after which anyone can register it. .uk is different: it is suspended 30 days after expiry, renewable until day 90, and it drops on day 95. Costs rise sharply at redemption and recovery is impossible in Pending Delete.

Before you start

• Know your TLD. gTLDs are domains like .com, .net and .org. .uk names follow a different timetable. Timings vary by TLD and registrar. The windows below are the typical model.
• Have access to your registrar account. This is where renewal and restore happen. If your domain is with Hostworld, those actions are in your WHMCS client area at portal.hostworld.uk.
• Check the registrant contact email in the domain contacts is accurate. ICANN requires at least two pre‑expiry notices and one post‑expiry notice for gTLDs. Nominet sends suspension and cancellation notices for .uk. If the contact email is wrong, you may miss all of them.
• Expect service interruption. For gTLDs, your registrar may interrupt DNS during the grace window and must interrupt it before deletion. In Redemption, DNS is interrupted. For .uk, DNS is removed when the domain is suspended at day 30. Your hosting with Hostworld is unaffected. The interruption is at the registry or registrar level.
• Fees change with stage. Renewal during the grace window is usually at the normal renewal price, subject to any post‑expiration renewal policy your registrar publishes. Restoration during Redemption costs the renewal price plus a separate redemption or restore fee. ICANN requires registrars to publish these fees.
• If you need help at any point, please open a support ticket.

Step 1: Identify your TLD and match the right timeline

What happens next depends on the TLD.

• gTLDs such as .com, .net, .org: auto‑renew grace of up to 45 days, then 30‑day Redemption Grace Period, then 5‑day Pending Delete. When DNS actually stops is down to the registrar’s policy during the grace period and is always off during Redemption.
• .uk: suspension and removal from the zone at day 30 after expiry. Renewable up to day 90. Drops on day 95. Renewal is not possible during the final 5 days.

If you are not sure which you have, look at the domain ending. If you need a definitive status, look at the status codes your registrar shows or run a WHOIS lookup and check the EPP status. You will see values like autoRenewPeriod, redemptionPeriod or pendingDelete on gTLDs.

Step 2: Check renewal notices and confirm your contact email works

This step avoids surprise outages.

• For gTLDs, ICANN’s Expired Registration Recovery Policy requires your registrar to send at least two pre‑expiry notices: roughly one month and one week before expiry. They must also send a post‑expiry notice within five days after expiry. These go to the registrant email address in your domain contacts. If that address is outdated or unreachable, you will not get them.
• For .uk, Nominet sends a Suspension notice at day 30 after expiry and a cancellation warning around day 83. Registrars can opt out of some reminders but not the cancellation warning.
• If your domain is with Hostworld, log in to portal.hostworld.uk and make sure you can see the domain and its renewal invoice. If you do not recognise the contact email your registrar has on file, update it in your registrar account before you do anything else.

Step 3: Follow the gTLD timeline (.com, .net, .org and similar)

Day 0: Expiry

The registration end date passes. Your website and email may still work at this point, but do not bank on that continuing. What happens next is driven by registry and registrar policy.

Day 1 to roughly Day 45: Auto‑Renew Grace Period

• The registry auto‑renews the domain the day after expiry and starts an Auto‑Renew Grace Period of up to 45 days. That auto‑renewal does not mean you have renewed it. It gives your registrar a window to let you renew or to delete the name without the registry charging a further year.
• Your registrar may interrupt DNS or park the domain during this period. That means your website and email can stop before the domain is deleted. Under the ERRP, they must interrupt DNS before deletion if you have not renewed.
• If you renew during this period, the registrar must restore DNS immediately or as soon as commercially reasonable. Services usually resume once the registrar un‑parks or restores the previous nameservers.
• Costs: renewal is typically at the normal renewal price during this window. ICANN requires registrars to publish renewal and post‑expiration renewal fees. Check your registrar’s published fees to see if a post‑expiry surcharge applies.
• Practical note: some registrars auction expired gTLDs during this window. The ICANN timeline still applies, but their process can change what you have to do to recover the name with them. Act within the grace window to avoid complications.

After deletion: 30‑day Redemption Grace Period

• If you still have not renewed by the end of the Auto‑Renew Grace Period, your registrar can delete the domain at the registry. That moves it into Redemption Grace Period for 30 days.
• During Redemption, DNS is interrupted. The domain does not resolve and services remain down.
• The only permitted action is a restore through the current registrar. Transfers and other changes are prohibited. If you want to keep the domain, you must redeem it where it is.
• Costs: restoring from Redemption involves paying the regular renewal price plus a separate redemption or restore fee. Registrars are required to publish the redemption fee amount.

After Redemption: 5‑day Pending Delete

• When the 30‑day Redemption Grace Period ends, the domain moves to Pending Delete for five days.
• Restoration is impossible in Pending Delete. At the end of these five days, the registry purges the domain. It becomes available for anyone to register.

What this means for your website and email on a gTLD

• They may stop at any point during the Auto‑Renew Grace Period if your registrar interrupts DNS or parks the domain. They must be interrupted before deletion if you do not renew.
• They are off during Redemption. Renewal or restoration will bring them back once the registrar restores DNS to working nameservers.
• Hostworld hosting is not altered by any of this. The outage is because the domain does not resolve. Once the domain’s DNS is working again, your services on our side will be reachable.

Step 4: Follow the .uk timeline

Day 0 to Day 30: Expired but not yet suspended

• Your .uk domain reaches its expiry timestamp on Day 0. It remains renewable and still resolves until suspension, but do not rely on it being continuously live.
• Nominet will send a Suspension notice at 30 days after expiry to the contact they hold. This reminder is separate from any your registrar sends.

Day 30: Suspension and zone removal

• Thirty days after expiry, the domain is suspended. It is removed from the zone. Your website and email stop working at this point because the DNS records are no longer published.

Day 30 to Day 90: Renewable while suspended

• You can renew the domain any time up to 90 days after expiry. Once renewed, Nominet restores the domain and services resume when DNS is live again.
• Nominet sends a cancellation warning around day 83. Registrars can opt out of some earlier reminders, but not this one.

Day 90 to Day 95: Pending deletion, no renewal possible

• From day 90, renewal is no longer accepted. The domain enters its final cancellation cycle and will drop.
• On day 95 after expiry, the domain drops and becomes available to register. There is no recovery route in these final five days or after the drop.

Step 5: Renew or restore in your Hostworld account if we are your registrar

This is what to expect in WHMCS at portal.hostworld.uk.

• Before or during the grace window: we raise a renewal invoice automatically ahead of expiry. Log in and pay the invoice or place a renewal order for the term you want. Once paid, the registrar processes the renewal and, for gTLDs, must restore DNS immediately or as soon as commercially reasonable. For .uk, services resume when the zone is published again.
• During Redemption on a gTLD: WHMCS applies the configured redemption or restore fee for that TLD on top of the renewal. If a previous invoice exists, WHMCS may cancel it and re‑issue a new invoice that includes the redemption fee. That is normal. Once you settle the new invoice, we submit the restore to the registrar.
• If you do not see a renewal option, or you are unsure which stage your domain is at, please open a support ticket. Tell us the domain and what you are trying to do. We will check the current status and advise what is possible.

If your website or email is hosted with Hostworld and your domain uses our nameservers, you do not need to change DNS after renewal or restore. Our nameservers are ns1.serverworld.uk, ns2.serverworld.uk, ns3.serverworld.uk and ns4.serverworld.uk. Once the registrar restores DNS to the domain, resolution will pick up these nameservers and your service should come back.

Step 6: Keep an eye on DNS and services as they return

• After you renew in the grace window on a gTLD, or after restoration from Redemption, the registrar must restore DNS immediately or as soon as commercially reasonable. If your site and mail do not return, check which nameservers are set on the domain. If the registrar parked the domain, you may need to switch it back to the nameservers you use for your hosting.
• If your hosting is with Hostworld and you are using our DNS, the nameservers should be set to ns1.serverworld.uk through ns4.serverworld.uk. If you use external DNS, leave the nameservers pointed to that provider.
• For .uk, services resume once Nominet publishes the zone again after renewal before day 90.
• If you see continuing resolution issues after renewal, please open a support ticket and include the domain and a short description of what you expected to see.

Step 7: Avoid a repeat

• Renew early. Do not plan to use the whole 45‑day gTLD grace window. DNS can be interrupted at any time during it and must be interrupted before deletion. For .uk, plan to renew well before day 30 to avoid suspension and downtime.
• Keep the registrant contact email current. The ICANN and Nominet notices go there. If it changes, update it at your registrar immediately.
• Know the point of no return. For gTLDs, once a domain is in Pending Delete there is no recovery. For .uk, renewal is no longer possible after day 90 and the drop happens on day 95.
• Expect fees to change after expiry. For gTLDs, Redemption adds a separate redemption or restore fee on top of the renewal. These fees are published by registrars. In your Hostworld account, WHMCS will include any configured fee and re‑issue the invoice if required so you see the full amount before you pay.
• Be aware of registrar practices. Expired gTLDs may be parked or auctioned during the grace window. The ICANN lifespan still applies, but the process to recover with that registrar can differ. Act during the grace window to avoid uncertainty.

What next

If you have renewed and your services are back, review where you host your DNS and website so you can react faster next time. If you are running your site on a VPS, our VPS guides cover common operational tasks. If you are planning to move to a VPS so you have fuller control, see our Linux VPS plans.

If you are mid‑recovery and need hands‑on help with what WHMCS is showing for your domain, please open a support ticket. Tell us the domain, the TLD and what stage you believe it is in. We will check the current registry status and what is possible.