We strongly recommend that you renew any domain names prior to their expiry.
Renewal years are always added to the end of the current registration period (i.e. the new expiry date will be the same whether you renew two months early, the day before expiry or the day after expiry), so there is no benefit in allowing your domain to enter the Grace Period.
What is the domain Grace Period?
If the domain has not been renewed prior to the expiry date it will expire and enter the grace renewal period. The domain's status will then be changed to what is called Grace Period (Expired). In this status, you can still renew the domain name within the grace renewal period set by the Registrar.
However, after expiry, your domain name will be deactivated by the Registrar and replaced with a parking page indicating that the domain name has expired. In this status your website and other services such as email will no longer function and no changes can be made to the domain.
During the Grace Period (Expired) we will charge an additional fee for processing renewals (currently £2.50) as well as the regular renewal fee.
What is the domain Redemption Period?
If the domain name is not renewed during the Grace Period (Expired) it will pass into the Redemption Period where the Registrar will typically submit the domain name for public auction to the highest bidder.
During the Redemption Period the Registrars can charge fees of up to £300 per domain for removal from the public auction and subsequent renewal.
Given these high charges we do not offer any renewals during this Redemption Period.
If the domain is not sold at auction, at the end of the Redemption Period the domain will be released as publicly available for anyone to register.
