Domain expiry checker
Find out when a domain's registration runs out, which registrar it's with and its status, straight from the registry rather than a WHOIS copy.
What this checks
- The expiry date and how many days are left
- The registrar the domain is registered through
- Its registration status, such as a transfer lock
- Which registry answered: Nominet for .uk, Verisign for .com
- For a subdomain, the registration it belongs to
An example, explained
expiration 2027-03-15 · registrar Example Registrar Ltd · status active
- expiration
- When the registration runs out unless it's renewed.
- registrar
- The company the domain is registered through, and where you renew it.
- status
- Flags the registry sets. Client transfer prohibited is a normal lock against the domain being moved without you.
What happens when a domain expires
An expired domain takes the website and the email with it. It rarely happens because nobody meant to renew: the card on the registrar account expired, the renewal emails went to someone who left, or the domain sits in an account nobody can log in to.
This checker asks the domain's registry over RDAP, the structured replacement for WHOIS, so the date comes from the source. IANA's list sends each ending to its registry: .uk, .co.uk and .org.uk go to Nominet, whose RDAP service covers all the domains it runs. Answers are cached for up to 12 hours, so checking the same domain again doesn't ask the registry twice.
The .uk timeline after expiry
Nominet publishes exactly what happens to a .uk domain that isn't renewed (domain expiry process, renewals procedure):
- Up to 30 days after expiry: a grace period. The domain can be renewed.
- 30 to 90 days: the domain is suspended and doesn't resolve, so the website and email stop working. It can still be renewed.
- 90 to 95 days: it can no longer be renewed.
- 95 days after expiry: it drops, and anyone can register it. Nominet publishes a daily public list of the domains about to drop.
Other endings have their own rules, set by each registry and registrar, and they're often shorter. Don't count on a grace period: renew before the date.
Common problems
- Auto-renew on, payment failing: the registrar tries, the card is declined, and the only warning goes to an old address.
- Registered in the wrong name: a domain in a former agency's or employee's account is hard to renew in a hurry.
- No expiry published: some registries don't share the date over RDAP. The check says so rather than guessing.
If the date is close, the fix guide walks through renewing and checking auto-renew.
Do this for every client, every day
- All nine checks on every client domain, daily, graded A to F
- Alerts by email or webhook when a grade drops or a record changes
- A monthly report card for each client, with your logo on it
- Hosted DMARC, SPF, DKIM and MTA-STS, so fixes don't wait for a DNS login
Start a free 28-day trial: up to 3 domains, no card needed.
Keep going
- .uk domain renewals and expiry: what agencies need to knowThe guide
- Domain expiringHow to fix it
- Domain not in DNSHow to fix it
- SSL checkerCheck the HTTPS certificate on a domain and its www: expiry, issuer and trust.
- DMARC checkerSee a domain's DMARC policy in plain English, and where its reports go.
- Blacklist checkerCheck an IP address or a domain's mail servers against public email blacklists.
- Free domain checkerAll nine checks on a domain, with a grade from A to F.
- Report cardsWhat your clients get each month, with your logo on it.
Questions
Where does the expiry date come from?
From the domain's registry over RDAP, found through IANA's list of registries. For .uk that's Nominet; for .com it's Verisign.
What happens when a .uk domain expires?
Nominet keeps it renewable for 90 days. From 30 days after expiry it's suspended and doesn't resolve, so the website and email stop. At 95 days it drops and anyone can register it.
Why does it say the expiry date isn't published?
A few registries don't share expiry dates over RDAP. Ask the registrar, or check the account where the domain is registered.
I checked a subdomain. Why does it show the parent?
Only the registered domain expires. A subdomain such as shop.example.co.uk lives and dies with example.co.uk, so that's what's checked.
Do you keep a record of the domains I check?
No. The free checker keeps nothing. Monitored domains in a workspace are checked daily, with an alert 30 days before expiry and again at 7.
Never lose a client's domain to a failed renewal.
Start a free 28-day trial: up to 3 domains, no card needed.