Go to Domains > My Domains, click Manage next to the domain, and choose Renew Domain. An invoice is generated and the renewal is submitted to the registry once it is paid.
Turn on automatic renewal instead
Manual renewal depends on somebody remembering. Automatic renewal costs nothing to leave enabled and removes the most damaging failure mode there is. Enable it on every domain that matters, then make sure a valid payment method is stored — automatic renewal with an expired card fails silently and the domain expires anyway.
Do not leave it to the last day
A domain does not simply stop working on its expiry date; it moves through stages, and they get worse quickly:
- Grace period — typically the first few weeks after expiry. Renewal is still at the normal price. But many registries suspend resolution immediately on expiry, so your website and email may already be down while renewal is still cheap.
- Redemption — roughly thirty days. Recoverable, but with a registry fee that is many times the renewal price, and only through a manual process taking days. Your site and mail stay down throughout.
- Pending delete — about five days during which nobody can do anything.
- Released — any domain with real traffic or age is caught within seconds by an automated drop-catching service. Assume it is gone.
There is no stage at which waiting improves the outcome. The article on domain expiry timelines covers this in full.
Registration terms are in whole years
Registry rules, not ours. A domain term cannot be prorated, shortened or part-refunded the way a hosting product can. Registering important domains for several years at a time reduces the number of occasions on which something can go wrong.
Keep the registrant address reachable
Every renewal and expiry notice goes to the registrant address in the domain record, which is a separate record from your portal account. If that address is a mailbox on the very domain that is expiring, the notices stop arriving at exactly the moment you need them.
If a domain has already expired
Open a ticket immediately with the domain name. Do not wait to see whether it comes back on its own. Every day narrows the options and increases the cost.
