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When does this domain expire?

A domain's expiry date, registrar and name servers, read straight from the registry. No account, no email.

No sign-up, no email required. You can paste a full address — we'll pull the domain out of it.

Why this is the check that matters most

An expired certificate puts up a warning. An expired domain takes everything with it at once — the site, the email, the subdomains, every application that connects to it. And getting it back is neither quick nor free. Past the date the domain drops into a redemption period the registrar bills you for, and after that anyone can buy it.

Where the information comes from

We query the extension's registry over RDAP, the protocol that has been replacing WHOIS since 2015. That is the official source, the same one your registrar reads. A few European extensions do not publish the expiry date at all, and when that happens the tool says so instead of inventing an estimate.

After the date

How much room is left, day by day

A domain does not vanish on the day it expires. It passes through three periods, each one more expensive and less reversible than the last. Drag the slider to see what is still possible.

Active
Grace period
Redemption

D+30· up to 45 days

Grace period

The site and the mail may already be down. Plenty of registrars redirect the name to a parking page from day one.

What is still possible

Renew at the normal price. This is the last easy window.

What it costs

Renewal price

Durations for generic extensions (.com, .net, .org) as set by ICANN — a 30-day redemption period, then a 5-day pending delete. The grace period is up to the registrar, within a 45-day limit. Country extensions such as .fr set their own rules.

After the deadline

Thirty days to take it back.

Once deletion is requested, the registry holds the name for thirty days. Then it gets purged and put back on sale, and buying it back has nothing to do with a renewal.

  • 30 dredemption period at the registry
  • 7 dwhere this check turns red
  • 11statuses a registry can return

Reading the result

The check hands back a verdict and one sentence. There are eight possible outcomes.

All clear — more than 30 days
Nothing to do today, though the date is worth writing down. A domain renews once a year, and forgetting it costs you the name.
Worth watching — 30 days or fewer
Two things to check with the registrar. That auto-renewal is on for this particular domain, and that the card on file has not expired.
Problem — 7 days or fewer
Handle it today. Past the date, the site, the email, the subdomains and every application that connects to them stop together.
Problem — the domain has expired
The name is usually still recoverable, but the window is short and restoration fees have nothing to do with the price of a renewal.
Problem — abnormal status
We report the status read at the registry exactly as it came back. The table below says what each one means, and none of them is harmless.
Unknown — the date is not published
Several European registries keep it private. The date exists, and you can read it in the registrar's customer area. The tool says as much rather than guessing at it.
Unknown — no record found
The registry does not know this name. Either the domain is free, or the extension answers no public queries.
Unknown — the registry did not answer
Nothing wrong with your domain. Registries cap how many queries one caller can make, and trying again a few minutes later almost always works.

The mistakes we see most often

  1. Auto-renewal is on, but the card has expired

    What causes it: the charge fails, and the notice goes to the domain's contact address, which is often a mailbox nobody reads.

    What fixes it: check the expiry date on the payment method, not just the auto-renewal box.

  2. The domain is still in a former supplier's account

    What causes it: the site changed agency and the name stayed behind. Renewal notices land with somebody who has no reason to act on them.

    What fixes it: read the registrar the tool returns, then transfer the name into the client's own account. A transfer takes several days.

  3. The site is offline while the due date is far away

    What causes it: somebody set client hold. ICANN describes it as uncommon, and ties it to a legal dispute, non-payment, or a domain due for deletion.

    What fixes it: the status appears in the result. Only the registrar can lift it, so call them and supply whatever is missing.

  4. Only the main domain gets watched

    What causes it: a client rarely owns one name. There is the other extension, the old site name, the one carrying the email. Those are the ones that expire.

    What fixes it: run the check on every name in the portfolio. The name servers that come back show you which ones still point somewhere.

  5. The transfer is started after the due date

    What causes it: a domain that has entered redemption period usually carries server transfer prohibited, and that makes the transfer impossible.

    What fixes it: renew first, transfer second. Never the other way around.

Domain name status codes

The status is what the registry answers when you ask about the state of a name. The tool shows it exactly as it came back, in its RDAP form.

StatusWhat it meansWhat it asks of you
ok / activeNo pending operation, no prohibition. The normal state of a domain.Nothing. You can ask for a client transfer prohibited lock as a precaution.
inactiveNo name servers attached, so the domain is not activated in the DNS and will not resolve.Set the name servers, and supply documents if the extension asks for them.
client holdSet by the registrar. The domain is not activated in the DNS. Rare — dispute, non-payment, deletion ahead.Call the registrar. Only they can lift it.
server holdSame effect, but set by the registry itself.Go through the registrar. Lifting it takes longer.
auto renew periodGrace period following an automatic renewal by the registry.For information only. If you are not keeping the name, say so straight away.
pending transferA request to transfer the domain to another registrar is in progress.If you did not ask for it, get it denied immediately.
redemption periodSomebody requested deletion. The registry holds the name for thirty days.Ask for restoration now. After that, the name goes.
pending restoreRestoration has been requested, and the registry is waiting on documentation.Watch this one. With no documentation inside the window, the domain drops back to redemption period.
pending deleteThirty days of redemption period and no restoration. The name gets purged, then released.Call the registrar today. The options are thin.
client transfer prohibitedThe registrar is refusing transfers. That is protection against hijacking, not a fault.Nothing, unless you are transferring, in which case ask for it to be lifted first.
server transfer prohibitedSet by the registry. Rare — dispute, registrant request, redemption period in progress.Go through the registrar. Longer than for the client status.

EPP status codes in their RDAP form, which is what the registry returns and what the tool displays. Source: the EPP status code table published by ICANN.

Common questions

How do I find out when a domain name expires?

The registry for the extension publishes the date, and that is what this tool reads. Type the name and you get the due date, the registrar and the name servers, with no account to create. When the registry publishes no date, the tool says so.

What happens if I let my domain expire?

The name stops resolving, so the site, the email and everything wired to them stop together. The registrar can then ask for deletion, which opens a thirty-day redemption period. Restoration is still possible, at a price that has nothing to do with a renewal.

How long after expiry can I still recover my domain?

It depends on the status it reached. While the name is out of redemption period, the registrar renews it normally. Inside redemption period, ICANN provides for thirty days of retention, then five days before the purge. After that, anyone can register it.

What is the difference between RDAP and WHOIS?

Two ways of asking for the same information. WHOIS comes back as free-form text that differs from one registry to the next. RDAP comes back as structured data with normalized statuses, and it is the protocol chosen to replace it. This tool queries the registry's own RDAP service wherever IANA publishes one.

Why is the expiry date not always published?

Because each registry decides what it opens to the public. Several European registries leave the due date out of their response entirely. The data exists on their side, they just do not share it, and the tool then shows unknown rather than estimating a date.

Is auto-renewal enough?

It prevents forgetting. It does not prevent failure. The charge can fail because the card expired, the failure notice can go to an address nobody reads, and somebody can have turned the option off on one particular domain. The only check that holds is the real date at the registry.

Received wisdom

What people believe about an expiring domain

The four sentences on the left are what you tell yourself the day before. The four on the right are what actually happens the day after.

“Renewal is automatic, there is nothing to watch.”

The automation depends on a bank card, and cards expire. The charge fails quietly, nobody gets alerted, and the domain keeps its deadline.

“The domain is in the name of the agency that bought it, that's simpler.”

The registrant decides, nobody else. A domain left in a former provider's name cannot move without them, and first you have to find them.

“The deadline is six months away, the site cannot go down over this.”

A name can stop resolving without ever expiring. One hold status, set by the registrar or the registry, does it.

“I'll transfer the domain now, before it expires.”

A transfer started too late just fails. Most registries refuse to move a domain in redemption, and the transfer lock comes off before, not during.

The day it happened

Four moves, in this order

Not one of them takes technical skill. They are phone calls and checks. The order is what matters, because every day lost narrows the options.

  1. Read the status, not the date

    The status the registry returns tells you where the name stands, and redemption period has nothing in common with a late payment. The date tells you nothing about what is still possible.

  2. Call the registrar

    They are the only ones who can act on most statuses, and the only ones who can ask the registry for a restoration. An online form rarely cuts it once the name is in redemption.

  3. Check who the registrant is

    If the name sits with a former provider, no restoration happens without their agreement. This is the point that costs weeks, and checking it takes a minute.

  4. Do not start a transfer

    A transfer requested during redemption gets refused, and some registries restart the clock. Restore first, transfer afterwards.

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