- For domains you own, your registrar's dashboard shows the date that decides whether you keep the name.
- For any other domain, an RDAP or WHOIS lookup shows the registry's expiry date and status codes in seconds.
- The registry date can jump a year at expiry even when nobody paid, so always read the status code next to it.
- Turn on auto-renew with a backup payment method and a secondary email, and you'll rarely need to check by hand.
On October 23, 2003, Microsoft's registration for hotmail.co.uk expired, and a private individual registered it straight away. Out-Law's report on the hotmail.co.uk slip describes Microsoft arranging a transfer back. If a company that size can miss a renewal, so can anyone juggling a portfolio.
This guide shows you how to check a domain's expiry date in under a minute, which of the two dates you'll see actually counts, and how to set things up so checking by hand becomes rare. It's one part of our complete domain management guide, if you want the bigger picture.
The quickest way to check a domain's expiry date
A domain's expiry date is the day its current registration term ends. If nobody renews it by then, the name moves through grace, redemption, and deletion. Here's the short answer:
- Your own domains: sign in to your registrar and read the date in your domain list. That's the date your renewal actually runs on.
- Anyone else's domains: run an RDAP/WHOIS lookup. You'll get the registry's expiry date plus the status codes that show what stage the name is in.
Check domains you own in your Dynadot account
Your registrar's dashboard is the most reliable place to check your own names, because it shows the date your registrar will act on. In Dynadot, it takes four steps:
- Sign in and open the Summary page. It has a section dedicated to upcoming expirations, so the names that need attention show up first.
- Go to My Domains > Manage Domains to see every domain in your account with its expiration date on the page.
- Read the color cues. A date highlighted in orange is coming up soon. A date in red means the domain has already started the expiration process.
- Working through a long list? Open the Filter menu on Manage Domains and pick Renew Option to spot any names that aren't set to auto-renew, or Domain Status to see which ones need attention.
One tip for bigger portfolios: Dynadot emails a reminder for each expiring domain by default. If your inbox fills up with them, switch to an Expiration Digest under My Info > Notifications and get them all in one email.
Check any domain with an RDAP/WHOIS lookup
An RDAP/WHOIS lookup pulls the public registration record for a domain: its registrar, status codes, creation date, and expiry date. RDAP (Registration Data Access Protocol) is the modern replacement for WHOIS. ICANN made RDAP the definitive source for gTLD registration data on January 28, 2025.
Here's how to run a domain expiration lookup:
- Open the Dynadot Whois Lookup and type the full domain (example.com, without https:// or www).
- Find the expiry date and the status lines in the result.
- Got a list? Use Bulk Lookup to check domain expiration for many names in one pass.
- Add any name you care about to your Watchlist to monitor expiry or status changes.
Two things trip people up when reading the result:
- Blank dates: some country-code registries don't publish an expiry date at all. For those names, only the registrar holding the domain can tell you.
- Whose date it is: for .COM and most gTLDs, a lookup shows the registry's date. The next section explains why that date can be a full year off.
Registry expiry date vs. registrar expiry date
The registry expiry date is the date the extension's registry (Verisign, for .COM) shows in a public lookup. The registrar expiry date is the date your registrar holds for your account, and it's the one that decides whether you keep the domain. Most of the year, the two match.
They split at expiry. When a gTLD domain expires, the registry adds a provisional year to its public record right away, as Tiger Technologies explains in its WHOIS dates guide. Nobody has paid for that year yet. Your registrar still shows the original date, and the domain sits in its grace period until you renew or the registrar deletes it.
Picture a .com set to expire on March 1, 2027. If the owner doesn't renew, a lookup shows March 1, 2028, while the registrar still shows March 1, 2027. Visual 2 shows that split for this illustrative example.
Read the status code next to the date
A domain status code is a short label from the EPP standard that tells you what's happening with a registration right now. Every domain has at least one, and ICANN's guide to EPP status codes lists them all. For a name you're watching, the status tells you much more than the date does. These four matter most when an expiring name is on your radar:
| Status code | What it means | Can the owner still renew? | What an investor should do |
| autoRenewPeriod | The registry auto-renewed the name at expiry. The registrar is deciding whether to keep or delete it. | Yes, through their registrar, during the grace period. | Ignore the new date. Watch it, and place a backorder if you want it. |
| redemptionPeriod | The registrar asked the registry to delete it. The registry holds it here for 30 days. | Yes, by restoring it through their registrar, which costs more and takes longer. | Keep watching. If nobody restores it, it's about 35 days from dropping. |
| pendingRestore | The owner's registrar has asked the registry to restore it. | They're doing it right now. | Move on. This name probably won't drop. |
| pendingDelete | Redemption ended without a restore. The registry purges it five calendar days after redemption ends. | No. | Make sure your backorder is in. |
One Dynadot detail is worth knowing: during the grace period, other users can already place backorders on soon-to-expire domains. For every other code you might run into, see our guide to domain status codes. Spotted a name you want heading toward deletion? Place a backorder before it drops.
What happens after the expiry date
Expiry starts a countdown of roughly two months before a typical gTLD name is gone for good. Exact windows vary by extension and registrar (for the long version, read what happens when a domain expires), but at Dynadot the sequence usually looks like this:
- Grace period (30 days): most TLDs give 30 days. The owner can still renew at the regular renewal price, and the registry status usually shows autoRenewPeriod.
- Redemption (30 days): the registry holds the name in redemptionPeriod. The owner can restore it through their registrar, with a restore fee and extra processing time.
- Pending delete (about 5 days): no more restores. The registry purges the name in pendingDelete, and it becomes available for anyone to register.
Reminders are built into the process. Under ICANN's Expired Registration Recovery Policy, registrars must send at least two notices before expiry, one about a month out and one about a week out, plus at least one more within five days after expiry. Dynadot's auto-renew runs 15 days before expiry. Visual 3 puts all of it on one timeline, using the 30-day grace period most TLDs follow.
Keep in mind that these windows are Dynadot's. Some registrars delete expired names much earlier, so if a name you're watching sits at another registrar, read its status code instead of counting days.
Restore fees vary by extension, so check the restore column on our TLD prices page for the names you care about. Country-code domains can follow their own rules entirely, so read the registry's policy for any ccTLD in your portfolio.
Set it and stop checking: auto-renew and monitoring
Domain expiration monitoring works best when your registrar does most of it for you. To turn on auto-renew at Dynadot:
- Sign in and go to My Domains > Manage Domains.
- Tick the box next to each domain you want covered.
- Choose Renew Options from the Action menu.
- Set the drop-down to auto-renew, pick a payment method, and press Save Settings.
Auto-renew runs 15 days before the expiration date. If the attempt fails, we email you and try again every day until the domain leaves your account, so updating your card is usually all it takes. Then add the safety nets:
- Backup payment method: add a backup card so one expired card can't stall every renewal in your account.
- Longer terms: register your keepers for several years at a time. Fewer renewals means fewer chances to miss one.
- Watchlist for names you don't own: the Dynadot domain watch list alerts you when a name goes from registered to unregistered, enters our marketplace or expired auctions, or becomes available to backorder.
- Independent monitors: a third-party RDAP-based monitor can check every name daily, which helps if your portfolio is spread across more than one registrar.
A monthly expiry check for your portfolio
Auto-renew handles the routine. A quick monthly check catches everything else. Copy this into your calendar:
- Next 90 days: check the upcoming expirations on your Summary page and list every name renewing in the next three months.
- Auto-renew coverage: use Filter > Renew Option on Manage Domains to catch any keeper that isn't set to auto-renew.
- Payment methods: confirm your main and backup cards are both current.
- Renew-or-drop call: decide on each upcoming name, and switch off auto-renew for any you're letting go.
- Registry check: run a lookup on anything you renewed last month and confirm the registry date moved forward.
- Watchlist review: prune names you've lost interest in, and check the status codes on the rest.
Ready to check your domain expiry date? Sign in to your Dynadot account and check your domains so you don’t miss renewals.
FAQ
Why does WHOIS show a different expiry date than my registrar?
Most often, the registry auto-renewed the domain at expiry and added a year to its own record, even though nobody has paid yet. Your registrar's date is the one that decides whether you keep the name.
If the registry shows an older date than your dashboard after you renewed, contact your registrar so they can push the renewal through.
Why does the lookup show no expiry date?
Some country-code registries don't publish expiry dates at all, so a lookup comes back blank for those extensions. In that case, only the registrar holding the domain can tell you the date.
A blank result can also mean the lookup itself failed, so try again before drawing conclusions.
Can I register a domain that's in its grace period?
No. During the grace period, only the current owner can renew the domain through their registrar. At Dynadot, you can place a backorder on it and add it to your Watchlist to follow its status.
How long after expiry does a domain drop?
For most gTLDs at Dynadot, it's roughly 65 days: 30 days of grace, 30 days of redemption, and about 5 days of pending delete. Some registrars delete expired names much earlier, and country-code domains often follow their own schedule.
Why did my auto-renewal fail?
The usual causes are an expired card, insufficient funds, or outdated billing details. At Dynadot, we email you when an auto-renewal fails and retry every day, so updating your payment method is usually enough to get it through.