It can be somewhat confusing at first when trying to figure out how a the process works for grabbing an expired domain name because most people do not realize when it is that a domain name actually becomes available to register.
Almost every one understands that when you register a domain you register the domain in annual increments and pay usually around $10/year. What many people do not realize is that if someone chooses not to renew their domain name then the domain name does not become available the instant that the clock strikes midnight on day 365 if the registrant registered the domain name for only 1 year.
What actually happens is that for the first 40 days after the domain name owner chooses not to renew the domain name then the domain name is set to “expired” status by the registrar. During this 40 day grace period all services to the domain name are shut off but the domain name owner still has the option to renew the domain name for the standard renewal rate charged by the registrar. Just because a domain name enters this grace period it does not necessarily mean that the domain name owner will choose not to renew the domain name (it’s definitely a positive sign because chances are they will not but of course they may just be putting it off or simply waiting for the funds to pay for the renewal).
After the 40 day grace period is up then the status of the domain changes to “redemption period”. The redemption period lasts about 30 days. The domain name owner can still renew their domain name during the redemption period buy they must pay an additional fee to bring the domain out of this redemption status. The fee is currently somewhere in the neighborhood of $100 – not an insubstantial sum. Unless the domain name owners is just flat out not paying attention then there is a very high likelihood that the domain name owner will actually let the domain name lapse once a domain name reaches the redemption period. During this redemption period the WhoIs data will also start to disappear as well.
After the 30 day redemption period is up then the status of the domain changes to “locked”. This locked period lasts 5 days. As soon as the 5 days is up then the domain name is deleted from the ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) database and officially be ready to be registered by anybody. It is important to note that once a domain name reaches this 5 day lock period then the domain name owner has lost all rights to the domain name and does not have a priority in trying to renew the domain name – they must try to register the domain name as soon as it becomes available just like everyone else. Our domains dropping soon finder tool will allow you to search thousands of domains that are in this 5 day lock period and our dropped domain finder will allow you to view domains that have just left their 5 day lock period and are available to register.
