Domain renewals and expiry

Domains are registered for a fixed period. Renewing on time keeps your website, email and brand identity uninterrupted, so it is worth understanding how renewals work before the first expiry date arrives.

How renewal works

Ahead of a domain's expiry, a renewal invoice is created in your account and sent to your account email. The domain page shows "A renewal invoice is awaiting payment" with a Pay invoice button, and the invoice also appears under Invoices. The renewal price is listed on the domain page, so there are no surprises.

Pay the renewal invoice from your account balance, with a saved card or with any available payment method, just like any other invoice. See Paying an invoice.

Renewing without having to remember

If you save a card and switch on automatic renewal for it, renewal invoices are charged to that card on their due date. You receive an email if a charge does not succeed, and the invoice stays open so you can pay it another way. See Saved cards and automatic renewals.

Even with automatic renewal switched on, keep these up to date:

• Your account email, because renewal and failure notices go there.
• Your card's expiry date. A card that expires stops being charged.
• Your profile contact details, which registrars use for the domain's records.

If a domain has expired

An expired domain shows "This domain has expired" on its page, and the website and email that depend on it can stop working. Act quickly:

1. Check Invoices for an unpaid renewal invoice for the domain and pay it.
2. If there is no invoice to pay, open a High priority support ticket with the domain name. Our team will confirm the options for restoring it.

After expiry, registries apply their own grace and redemption periods, and restoring a domain later in that cycle can cost more or become impossible. Renewing before the expiry date is always the safest approach.

Letting a domain go

If you no longer need a domain, open a ticket to let us know before its renewal date, so the renewal invoice can be cancelled rather than left unpaid. Before you do, make sure nothing still depends on it, such as an email address used to sign in to other services, and consider whether someone could re-register the name and receive email meant for you.