Check your domain's expiry date, and make sure it renews
Your domain's expiry date is in its public registration record: look it up with an RDAP or WHOIS lookup, or in your registrar's dashboard. Switch on auto-renew there, check the saved payment card won't expire first, and keep your contact email current, because an expired domain takes your website and your email offline.
What happens when a domain expires
ICANN's guide to its Expired Registration Recovery Policy explains that after expiration the registrar interrupts the domain's DNS, which causes any "website or email service to no longer work." For your app that means the site, sign-in emails, password resets and receipts all stop at once.
ICANN's rules give you warnings and some time:
- Registrars must send renewal reminders "approximately one month prior to expiration and the second approximately one week prior to expiration," and another notice "within 5 days after expiration."
- Registries for generic top-level domains (such as
.com) must offer a "Redemption Grace Period ("RGP") of 30 days" after deletion during which you can restore the domain, though your registrar may charge a fee.
The reminders only help if they reach you. ICANN advises you to "make sure your contact information is up-to-date."
Check the expiry date
- In your registrar's dashboard (where you bought the domain). The domain list shows the expiry date and whether auto-renew is on.
- With a public lookup. An RDAP lookup (for example at
https://rdap.org/domain/yourdomain.com) or any WHOIS tool shows the registry's expiration date.
Make sure it renews
- Turn on auto-renew for the domain in your registrar's dashboard.
- Check the payment method on that account. An expired card on file stops auto-renew.
- Use a contact email that isn't on the same domain. If
you@yourdomain.comis your registrar contact and the domain lapses, the reminder emails can't reach you. - Consider renewing for several years for a domain your business depends on.
- Note the date somewhere you will see it, as a backup to the registrar's emails.
What Pewterkit Check looks at
For an app on its own domain, the check reads the domain's public registration record over RDAP and reports the expiry date: a fix when the domain has expired or ends within 30 days, a warning within 60 days. It can't see your registrar account, so it can't tell whether auto-renew is on; the dates tell you when to look. When the registry gives no date, the check stays silent.
FAQ
Does auto-renew always work?
It depends on a valid payment method and an active registrar account. Check both once a year, and watch for the renewal reminders.
My domain expired yesterday. Is it gone?
Usually it can still be renewed. Contact your registrar right away; ICANN's policy gives generic top-level domains a 30-day redemption period after deletion, and registrars may charge a fee to restore.
Can a scan tell whether my auto-renew is on?
A scan reads the public expiry date only. Auto-renew is a setting inside your registrar account, so check it there.
Sources
How this page was made: drafted with AI from the sources listed, reviewed by Pewterkit. Docs checked Oct 27, 2026. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.