What Happens When a Domain Expires: Renewal and Redemption
Your domain renews automatically every year, with a reminder and an invoice before the expiry date, so your website and email carry on as long as the invoice is paid. If a renewal is missed, the name does not vanish at once: it passes through short stages in which you can still renew or restore it. This guide shows what you see at Noiz, what happens at the registry, and how to get a name back.
Last reviewed: 11 November 2026, against the Noiz console, the Specific Terms, the ZARC policies and the ICANN Expired Registration Recovery Policy.
Before you start
- Your account email and registrant email are current. Renewal reminders go to the email address on your Noiz account, and registry notices go to the registrant. Check the registrant email in the console.
- You know where the domain is renewed. A domain registered with Noiz is renewed in the console.
How does renewal work at Noiz?
Domains are registered one year at a time and renew automatically unless you switch automatic renewal off. In the weeks before the expiry date:
- A reminder arrives by email, to the email address on your Noiz account.
- A renewal invoice appears in Billing > My Invoices in the console, and is paid with the payment method on the domain. A card payment is taken automatically.
- The domain renews when the invoice is paid, and the expiry date moves on a year.
To stop a name renewing, turn off Auto Renew on the domain. How to stop a domain from renewing shows the switch. Do it well before the renewal date: the Specific Terms set the notice period.
What happens to a .co.za domain that is not renewed?
At the registry, ZARC, a .za name that is not renewed moves through three stages:
| Stage | Length | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Pending suspension | 5 days | The name still works. You can renew it |
| Pending deletion (inactive) | 5 days | The name leaves the DNS, so the website and email stop. The name is still held and you can restore it |
| Closed redemption | 20 days | The name is held for you. Restoring it carries an extra registry fee and renews it for a year. It cannot be transferred |
After closed redemption the name is deleted and anyone can register it. A deleted name cannot be reinstated.
Renew before the expiry date. The stages are a safety net. Your website and email are offline from the second stage, and a late renewal or restore can carry an extra fee.
What happens to a .com domain that is not renewed?
Generic names follow ICANN's Expired Registration Recovery Policy:
- Reminders. Your registrar sends two before expiry, about a month and a week ahead, and another within five days after.
- DNS stops. After expiry the registrar interrupts the name, so the website and email stop.
- You can still renew. A registrar may delete the name after expiry. After deletion, registries give a 30-day Redemption Grace Period, during which the name can be restored by the registrar that deleted it. DNS stays off and transfers are blocked in that period.
- Restoring costs more than a normal renewal.
How do you get an expired domain back?
- Open the console and select Domains > My Domains.
- Select the domain and choose Renew Domain, or pay the open renewal invoice.
- If the name has gone past its expiry date, open a ticket with the domain name straight away. We will tell you which stage it is in and what restoring costs.
- Check DNS once it is back. Your records should return with the name. If your website or email does not return within a few hours, see DNS records explained.
How do you make sure it never expires by accident?
- Keep Auto Renew on.
- Keep a card on the account. A saved card pays the renewal invoices of the services billed to it without you.
- Keep the registrant email yours. A reminder sent to a former employee helps nobody.
- Read the reminder when it arrives. Real renewal notices come from Noiz and match an invoice in your console. Domain scams and fake renewal notices shows how to tell a fake one.
Good to know
Domain renewals and restores follow the registry rules and the Specific Terms. Domain registrations are outside the Refund Policy. The Billing and Payment Policy covers late payment.
Need a hand?
Open a ticket in the console with the domain name and we will check its status with you.
Official Documentation Reference
- ZARC: Published Policies and Procedures: cancellation, reinstatement and the registry periods for .za names.
- ICANN: Expired Registration Recovery Policy: reminders and the Redemption Grace Period for generic names.
