What is a Domain Redemption Period?
When a domain name expires, it initially enters a “grace period” lasting 30 days. During this time, you can renew the domain at the standard renewal fee without any additional charges.
However, if the domain is not renewed during the grace period, it moves into a “redemption period,” which lasts for 45 days. During this phase, the domain is scheduled for deletion, but you can still recover it by paying a redemption fee. This fee is typically much higher—often more than 10 times the usual renewal cost.
If the domain is not redeemed within the redemption period, it will be permanently deleted from the registry and made available for anyone to register as a new domain.
It’s crucial to understand that if you do not restore or redeem your domain during the redemption period, you risk losing it entirely since it becomes available to the public. At that point, you lose any control over the domain.
To avoid the high costs associated with the redemption period, it’s important to pay your renewal invoices on time. If your domain does enter the redemption period, you have three options:
Choose a new domain name altogether.
Pay the redemption fee and keep using your domain.
Wait for the redemption period to end and attempt to register the domain again—though there’s a risk it could be taken by someone else.
