Redeem a domain registration

Overview

Due to ICANN's Transfer Policy, any change made to the registrant's name, organization, or email address will put the domain in a 60-day transfer lock; it will also trigger notification emails that are sent to the old and new registrant notifying them of the change.

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When a domain expires, most TLDs allow a 30-day renewal grace period (RGP) where you can renew the domain at the standard cost. Once that grace period expires, the domain is placed into another 30-day period called redemption with the current registrar that issued DreamHost the license for the domain.

The following describes what happens and what to do when a domain enters the redemption period.

What happens to a domain when it expires?

There are three sequential time periods that occur when a domain registration expires:

  1. Renewal Grace Period (RGP) — the domain can be renewed at renewal price for a period of 30 days after it expires.
  2. Redemption period — the domain can be redeemed for a fee during the next 30-day "redemption" period. See the following sections for more information.
  3. Deletion period — the domain then enters a "pendingDelete" period during which the registry will soon release the domain to be registered as a new domain.

Once a domain is within its final deletion period (pendingDelete), it cannot be redeemed. This is typically 30 days for most TLDs but can vary at the discretion of the registry (not DreamHost).

After a domain is released, it can then be registered as a new domain. However, there is NO guarantee that the domain will be released within any set period of time as this is outside of DreamHost's control.

Please contact support if you have any questions about the status of a domain within any of the expiration periods described above.

How does the redemption period work?

The redemption period, for most TLDs, lasts another 30 days. During this time, you have one more chance to redeem the domain name, but this will cost an additional fee to the registrar to process the redemption.

If you would still like to retrieve the domain at this stage, you must pay the amount that the registrar charges to redeem it. To view the redemption fee chart, please visit the Domain Registration Terms page for further details. Then, you must pay for the standard yearly registration cost.

How do I redeem a domain when it's in the redemption period?

To redeem a domain name during the redemption period, click the ‘Redeem this domain!’ button through the Manage Registrations page on your account panel. This prompts you to pay for the redemption cost before you can complete this process.

The redemption needs some time to process. Please allow up to 30 minutes and if the domain is not redeemed and renewed at that time, feel free to contact DreamHost support for assistance in your panel at Contact Support.

See also

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