Overview
The following is an overview of how auto-renew domains are charged, billed, and renewed at DreamHost.
FAQs
What is the difference between Generic and Auto-Renew Only domains?
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The two types of domains differ in the process of how and when they are renewed.
What is the difference between the expiration and renewal date?
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Expiration date: The date the domain name officially expires. For all domains, it is one day before a full calendar year from when you originally purchased the domain. You can view this date by visiting the Manage Registrations page or running a WHOIS query and looking for the Expiration date line item.
Renewal date: This date is different depending on if your domain is a Generic domain (such as .COM) or a specific Auto-Renew Only domain:
TLD Renewal date Generic The credit card is charged, the account billed, and domain is renewed 31 days prior to the expiration date. Auto-Renew Only The credit card is charged and account is still billed 31 days prior to the expiration date, however the renewal date is different: the renewal date is the same as the expiration date.
What is the difference between ‘Charging the card’ and ‘Billing the account’?
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Charge date: the date your credit card is charged for the domain renewal.
Bill account date: the date your DreamHost panel posts the charge that is due. Billing the account only posts the information to your DreamHost panel — it does not actually attempt to charge the credit card at all.
How to check if a domain is set to auto-renew
New domain registrations and domains transferred to DreamHost are automatically defaulted to Auto-Renew. You can adjust this setting by visiting your panel using the following instructions.
Regular domains
You can set a regular domain to Auto-Renew on the Manage Registrations page. When you set it to auto-renew, the option is set to YES.
Auto-Renew Only domains
The Auto-Renew setting is found on the Manage Registrations page. The "Auto-renew by" or "Delete by" deadline is listed on the Manage Registrations page directly beside the expiration date.
To renew an Auto-Renew Only domain correctly, the domain's auto-renew setting must be enabled prior to the “Auto-renew by” or "Delete by" date found in the panel. When you hover over the tooltip, a note box appears stating the following:
If the domain is not auto-renewed on the expiration date, it goes into a redemption period, during which it can usually be recovered for an additional fee.
How Auto-Renew domains are charged and billed
See this article to learn more about how regular and Auto-Renew Only domains are charged and billed.