When a domain reaches its expiration date, the system initiates an automatic renewal cycle. Billing for the renewal does not occur immediately, it depends on what actions, if any, the registrar takes during the grace period that follows.
Stage 1 — Automatic Renewal (Expiration Date)
On the domain's expiration date, the system automatically renews the domain for one year, extending the expiration date by one year from the current expiry.
⚠️ Important: The renewal fee is not charged at this point. The renewal is recorded in the system, but no billing transaction is created yet.
Stage 2 — Autorenew Grace Period (45 Days)
After the automatic renewal, the domain enters a 45-day autorenew grace period. The domain remains active during this window, and the registrar may delete the domain without being charged the renewal fee.
Stage 3 — Renewal Fee Billing
How and when the autorenewal renewal fee is charged for domains in autorenew grace period depends on what happens during the autorenew grace period:
Scenario | Billing Outcome |
Domain is deleted within the autorenew grace period | Renewal fee is not charged |
Domain is transferred to another registrar within the autorenew grace period | When the domain is transferred, the renewal fee is not charged to the losing registrar, the transfer fee is charged to the gaining registrar |
Autorenew grace period elapses with no action | Renewal fee is charged when the 45-day autorenew grace period ends |
Domain is explicitly renewed by the registrar within the autorenew grace period | When the explicit renew occurs, two billable transactions are created: one for the autorenew, one for the explicit renewal |
Key Detail — Pricing: The autorenew renewal fee, including any applicable promotions, is based on pricing at the time the autorenew occurred (the expiration date), not at the time the billing transaction is generated.
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