If you do not renew a domain name before it expires, the domain will not be deleted immediately: for most domain extensions, there are several consecutive periods before the domain becomes available for registration again. During this time, however, your website and email service may already have stopped working, and restoring them will become increasingly expensive and complicated.

General domain extensions (.com, .net, .org and others)

1. Grace period (0–45 days): following expiry, this lasts from a few days up to 45 days, depending on the registrar. During this period, the domain can still be renewed at the standard fee, but the registrar may already have suspended the website and email service, or redirected them to a parked page.
2. Redemption period (30 days): after the grace period, the domain can still be recovered for a further 30 days, but only upon payment of a redemption fee, which is considerably higher than the renewal fee.
3. Pending delete: for 5 days after the redemption period, the domain cannot be restored in any way; after that, anyone can register it.

For .com and most generic top-level domains, the total time from extension to final deletion is approximately 75–80 days. The status of each period is also shown in the WHOIS data (autoRenewPeriod, redemptionPeriod, pendingDelete).

.hu domains

For .hu domains, the time periods are defined by the Domain Registration Regulations:

1. Termination: if the fee remains unpaid, the registrar will terminate the domain, and it will enter a 30-day termination period. During this time, it can still be reinstated, but it may be removed from the zone, which could cause the website and email service to stop working.
2. Pre-deletion parking: following this, the registry revokes the domain, and it remains on the public list of domains in pre-deletion parking for a further 30 days. At this stage, only the former domain holder (or, for example, their heir) may reclaim it. The one-off fee and one-year renewal must be paid for reinstatement; the domain’s registration date and renewal date remain unchanged.
3. Deletion: eventually, the domain will be deleted and will become available for registration again. Under the regulations coming into force on 18 November 2026, .hu names that become available will be put up for auction.

What should you do?

• Enable automatic renewal and keep your payment details up to date.
• Please pay attention to the notifications sent before your service expires; we have written a separate article explaining how you can find out when your renewal is due.
• Please check that the email address provided for the domain is active and that you are able to access it: if the domain expires, email services may be suspended, and the notification may not reach you at that address.
• It is important to pay for your domain in advance for several years: .hu domains can be registered for 1–10 years.

If your domain has already expired, please contact us as soon as possible: restoration is still straightforward during the grace period and the cancellation period.