Whois FAQ

Why is the expiration date of a domain now visible in the Registry Whois?

The Registry now displays the expiry date for domain names because the ICANN Redemption Grace Period (RGP) Technical Steering Group recommended that the expiry date be displayed in Registry Whois in conjunction with the implementation of RGP.

Why is the Registrar requesting that I renew my domain name when the Registry Whois expiration date shows that it has been renewed for one year?

When a domain name reaches its expiration date and is not renewed by the registrar, the Registry system performs an auto-renew on the domain name. The auto-renew extends the expiration date for one year whether or not the registrar has received payment from the registrant. For example:

Example.com is set to expire on March 27th, 2003. The following events will occur:

1. If the registrar does not renew this name with their registry prior to March 27th, the Registry will auto-renew the name for one year; even in cases where the registrant has not renewed the registration with their registrar.
2. The Registry auto-renews domain names the day after they expire. Therefore, on March 28th, the Registry will auto-renew the domain name for one year on March 28th.
3. On March 28th, the new expiry date will now read March 27, 2004.
4. The registrar then has 45 days during which they may delete the registration and receive a credit for the registry fee.

A good way to verify if your name has recently been auto-renewed is to do the following:

1. Check the Last Update Date field in whois. If this field states that your domain name was Last Updated the day after it expired, your name was probably auto-renewed.
2. Call your registrar.

Why doesn't the Registry Whois display the original expiration date instead of the auto-renewed expiration date?

The Registry Whois system pulls the expiry date data from our Registry Database. As discussed above, since the Auto-Renewal process is conducted daily in the Registry database, the Whois will publish the auto-renewed dates. To publish anything different would be to contradict what is on file in the authoritative database. If the registrant does not renew the registration with his/her registrar, the registrar may delete the registration in the registry database.