Expired Domain Deletion Policy

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1. Suspension and redemption
Domains are registered for set periods, and must be renewed at the end of each period if you wish to retain them.

We send notifications to remind you to renew your domain name 60, 30, 14, 7, 1 days before the expiration date for that domain name.

If you do not renew your domain name before the expiry date (manually or via the auto-renew feature), we will send you a notice informing you that the domain name has expired, and this it will be suspended after five days if not renewed.

If the domain name is not renewed during that five-day period, then it will be suspended. Suspension means that the domain name is removed from the registry’s zone files, and DNS queries to that domain name will fail. You can re-activate the domain name at the regular renewal fee for that namespace (e.g. .com, .africa, .co.za) during the suspension period, which last from 5 days after expiry until 10 days after expiry.

When we suspend the domain name, we will send you a further notice telling you that the domain name will enter a redemption period after a further five days. If a domain name is in redemption, that means that it has been marked for deletion, but that it can be redeemed (re-activated). If you redeem the domain name, we will charge you a redemption fee (which can be found here : https://www.domains.co.za/domain-registration#tabs-pricing) in addition to the regular domain name renewal fee.

Depending on the namespace, the redemption period could be between 20 and 30 days. We will send you another notice when the domain name goes into redemption.

At the end of the redemption period, the domain name will be deleted from the registry records and become available for registration by anyone else.

We may at our discretion elect to renew domain names without your explicit consent where there are extenuating circumstances. These are: UDRP action, valid court order, failure of our renewal process (which does not include your failure to respond), the domain name is used by a nameserver that provides DNS service to third-parties, you are subject to bankruptcy proceedings, payment dispute (where you claim to have paid for a renewal, or a discrepancy in the amount paid), billing dispute (where you dispute the amount on a bill), domain name subject to litigation in a court of competent jurisdiction, or other circumstance as approved specifically by ICANN.

2. Auto-renewal
If you have selected our “auto-renew” feature or have not opted out of “auto-renew” during the domain name registration process, we will attempt to automatically renew the domain name registration seven days before the domain name registration expiration date. We will only be able to do so if we hold valid credit card details for you, or you have a credit balance on your account with us. We may in our discretion auto-renew a domain name and invoice you for the domain name renewal fee in arrears.

We cannot be held responsible for the failure of the auto-renewal feature to renew your domain name, and it remains your responsibility to note the expiry dates of your domain names, and to take note of renewal notices that we send to you.

3. Manual renewal
If “auto-renew” is not activated for a domain name, you can renew the domain name manually using our Customer Portal for regular customers, or via the Reseller Panel for resellers.

4. UDRP Disputes
Where domain name registration is the subject of a Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) proceeding and expires or is deleted during the course of the dispute, complainant (the party that filed the UDRP proceeding) has the option to renew or restore the domain name registration under the same commercial terms as the original customer. If the complainant renews or restores the name, the name will be placed in Registrar HOLD and Registrar LOCK status, the WHOIS contact information for the original customer will be removed, and the WHOIS entry will indicate that the name is subject to dispute. If the complaint is terminated, or the UDRP dispute finds against the complainant, the name will be deleted within 45 days. The original customer retains the right under the existing redemption grace period provisions to recover the name at any time during the redemption period, and retains the right to renew the name before it is deleted.