Glossary
DOMAINS

Redemption Period

The 30-day grace window after a domain expires but before it drops. During this window only the original registrant can restore it, usually for a fee.

Redemption Period is the ICANN-mandated 30-day grace window after a gTLD domain expires but before it becomes available for public registration. During this window only the original registrant can restore ownership, and only by paying a redemption fee — usually $50-$200 on top of renewal cost.

Timeline

Day 0        — expiry
Day 0-45     — auto-renew grace (registrar-specific, most register still-billed)
Day 45-75    — redemption period (30 days, mandatory across gTLDs)
Day 75-80    — pending-delete (5 days, cannot be recovered)
Day 80+      — released, available for dropcatch

What Fails During Redemption

  • DNS stops resolving — nameservers are removed from the parent zone
  • WHOIS shows redemptionPeriod status
  • Website goes down, mail bounces, everything tied to the domain fails

Why It Exists

Redemption gives owners a chance to recover from missed renewals — payment card expiry, staff turnover, forgotten domains. Before ICANN mandated it in 2003, dropped domains were snapped immediately, making accidental loss common.

ccTLD Differences

Each ccTLD has its own redemption rules. .de has no redemption period at all — miss the renewal window and the domain drops immediately.

Check the dropcatch glossary entry, the transfer lock glossary entry, and the EPP glossary entry.

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