Domain Expiration Life Cycle

[Naijafans]

Domain Life Cycle for gTLDs​

Domain Life Cycle
The stages in the above image are explained below.

• Available: every domain starts from the status of being available. This means the domain name can be registered on a first-come-first-served basis for a minimum of 1 year.
• 5-day Add Grace Period: during this period, most generic domains can be deleted for a small fee. Other terms and conditions usually apply.
• Registered: the domain is registered for a term of between 1 and 10 years. Other states may apply to the domain name even when it is registered. For example, the domain may be in a server hold status, stopping it from working, while it is registered.
• Expired: the domain would go into the Expired status when the domain registrant fails to renew it before the Expiry Date.
• Auto-Renew Grace Period: during this Expired period, the domain registrant can renew the domain at the regular renewal fee without any complications. The domain should work within a few hours to 48 hours after renewal. This is subject to DNS propagation.
• Redemption Grace Period: this status is a post-Expiry period that is also known as Pending Delete Restorable. During this period, the domain name can be restored, for a much higher fee that is typically much higher than the renewal fee. This is known as the Redemption Fee and may be separate from the renewal fee.
• Pending Delete: this is usually a period of 5 days after the Redemption Grace Period. Nothing can be done about the domain in this state.
• Released: the domain has now gone back to the original state of being available for re-registration by anyone.

Reminder: It is a good idea to always renew your domain name(s) long before they expire.

.NG Expired Domain Policy​

• Domains are automatically suspended 30 days after they expire
• Domains are automatically deleted 60 days after they expire
• .NG Domains have a 28 days redemption period

Minimum Registration Term​

Every domain name must be registered for a minimum of 1 year. This is in accordance with the industry standard.

Maximum Registration Term​

This varies per domain extension. For all Generic Top-Level Domains like .com, .net, .org, .africa, it is 10 years.

For .ng extensions, it is 5 years. For .co.za, it is 1 year.

Domains cannot be renewed beyond the maximum term possible.