What will happen to my domain if I do not renew it before the expiry date?
.uk domains
If a renewal fee has not been received by seven days after the expiry date of a .uk domain, then Nominet UK (the UK Domain Registrars) will send you a pro forma invoice for the renewal fee by email and post using the contact details held on the register. If you receive one of these, then please contact us to renew, because it will be much cheaper to renew through us than through Nominet.
If the renewal fee is not received within their specified credit terms (30 days from the date of the invoice) the domain will be suspended for 60 days. This means that the domain name and all associated services will stop working. After the 60 day suspension period, the domain name will be deleted and will then be available for re-registration by someone else. At any point during the suspension of the domain name, you can renew the domain name at the usual renewal price, but once it is deleted someone else may register it.
.com, .org, .net, .info and .biz domains
If you let a .com, .org, .net, .info or .biz domain expire, then it will enter into the Redemption Period after 30 days, during which time your website and email will no longer function.The domain will be held in the Redemption Period for 30 days and then it will go into a deletion period for a further 5 days, during which time it will not be able to be renewed. It will then be deleted and someone else may register it. If your domain has entered the Redemption Period, then it is still possible to get the domain name back, but we have to pass on a higher fee from the Registry of £125 +VAT.