What happens when a domain expires.
The short answer
For .com and the other generic endings, an expired domain stops working, the owner can still renew it until the registrar deletes it, then it spends 30 days in redemption, and 5 days after that anyone can register it. A .si domain is simpler: 30 days of quarantine, then the registry deletes it and it is free for anyone, first come, first served.
The stages, .com next to .si.
Generic endings such as .com, .net and .org follow ICANN's rules[1][2]. Country endings set their own; for .si that is Register.si, the registry at ARNES[3].
| Stage | .com and other generic endings | .si |
|---|---|---|
| Before the expiry date | The registrar must send at least two reminders: about a month before and about a week before. | The holder renews through their registrar, by the expiry date. |
| On the expiry date | The registration ends. The owner can still renew through the registrar, and the website and email stop working before the name is deleted. | The domain goes into quarantine: it is removed from the .si DNS and stops working. |
| After expiry | The registrar decides when to delete it. Until then the owner can renew, at the registrar's post-expiry renewal price. | The holder can still renew for up to 30 days, which ends the quarantine. |
| Deleted | 30 days of redemption: the owner can restore it, usually for an extra fee. Nobody else can register it. | After 30 days of quarantine the registry deletes it. |
| Free for anyone | 5 days after redemption ends, the name is purged and anyone can register it. | Right after deletion, first come, first served. |
How long after it expires can someone else register it?
For .com and other generic endings.
It depends on when the registrar deletes the name, which each registrar decides. While the name can still be renewed, the registrar must cut its website and email for at least the last eight days, so an owner who missed the reminders notices[1]. Once it is deleted, the registry holds it for 30 days of redemption, when only the owner can restore it, and purges it five calendar days after that, when it becomes available to anyone[2].
Drop-catching services try to register wanted names the moment they are released. A backorder places your request with one of them before the drop.
For .si.
On the expiry date the registry puts the domain in quarantine and removes it from the .si DNS. Quarantine lasts no longer than 30 days, and the holder can renew at any time during it. If nobody does, the registry deletes the domain and anyone can register it again[3].
The last days matter. Of the .si real words Hivex was following through quarantine in October 2026, brand.si, dominion.si, distinct.si and wardrobe.si were all renewed in the final days, between 14 and 18 October. A domain in quarantine is often still wanted by its holder.
If it is your domain.
- Look up the real expiry date and the registrar in the registration record. Only that registrar can renew it.
- Turn on automatic renewal, and keep the card and the account email current: the reminders go to that email.
- Renew for several years at once if the domain matters to you.
- Pay renewals only in your registrar account, never through a link in an email: fake renewal notices copy the real expiry date (how they work).
If you want a domain that is expiring.
- Check the expiry date and the status codes:
redemptionPeriodandpendingDeletemean the name is on its way out. - For .com and other generic endings, place a backorder before the drop, so a catching service tries to register it for you the moment it is released.
- For .si, watch the names as they leave the registry: Hivex lists the .si names that just dropped, and they can be registered at the normal price.
- Or ask the owner before it expires: see whether the domain is for sale.
Backorder an expiring domain at Dynadot
Affiliate link: Hivex may earn a commission.
Sources
- [1]ICANN, Expired Registration Recovery Policy, read 20 Oct 2026
- [2]ICANN, EPP status codes: what do they mean, and why should I know?, read 20 Oct 2026
- [3]Register.si (ARNES), General terms and conditions for registration under .si, 15 Nov 2024
By Hivex. Updated 20 October 2026. The renewal rules of your own registrar can be more generous than these minimums: check its terms.