Each domain name follows a life cycle, in which it is registered, remains active, expires, and is then released back into the public pool so that someone else can register it.
This is how all domain names work, and their registration and expiration conditions are defined by the Domain Registries they belong to. This means there are several groups of TLDs, each with slightly different conditions.
Most TLDs in Spaceship follow the same life cycle — for example, .COM and .NET domains. Let’s take a look at the typical life cycle of such a domain.
The period domains (also known as TLDs) can be registered for ranges from one to ten years. During this period, your domain name is active, and you can perform various actions with it, including:
Extending its registration — for more years to prevent expiration.
Managing domain contacts — details like registrant, admin, or billing contacts associated with the domain.
Managing its Privacy Service — enabling or disabling WHOIS privacy to hide contact information from the public.
Managing auto-renew settings — whether you want to manually decide to renew, or have it happen automatically before expiry.
Transferring it — moving your domain to another host.
Managing nameservers — updating your domain’s nameservers.
Managing DNS records — including removing records or creating new ones.
Connecting and disconnecting Spaceship products — most of our products can link to your domain directly.
Managing URL redirects — take care of redirections for pages that no longer exist and prevent 404 errors.
Managing Email forwarding — forward domain-based emails to other accounts.
When your domain's registration period ends, it expires.
Typically, you still have time to renew it and keep it under your control — this window is known as the Grace period. At Spaceship, the Grace period lasts 30 days. During this time, it's still possible to renew the domain name by paying just the renewal price.
While in Grace, right after expiration, your domain name remains active and resolves properly for 7 days. However, most of the options in the Domain Manager side panel will become unavailable. The remaining functionality allows you to:
Renew your domain (i.e. make it active again).
Transfer it out.
Disconnect Spaceship products.
If you don’t renew your domain within 7 days after expiration, it stops resolving on the 8th day. Existing DNS connections are broken (e.g. email services set up for the domain will stop working), and visitors will see a parking page.
You still have a chance to restore your domain’s functionality up till the day 30 after expiration by renewing it. You can also transfer it out (to another provider) during this time.
The good news is, if you renew your domain at any point before the end of the Grace period, the system should automatically restore all of the DNS records that existed before expiration, so you won't need to recreate them manually.
If a domain is not renewed during the Grace period, it enters the Redemption Period. This typically lasts 42 days. During this time, the domain can still be recovered, but additional fees may be applied.
Take a look at the current fees to see how much it will cost if your domain is in the redemption period.
Once your domain is in the redemption period, the only option available in your Spaceship account will be restoring the domain. To do this, you’ll need to add the domain to your Shopping Cart — this is the only way to proceed with restoration. The Shopping Cart will display the renewal price along with the applicable redemption fee.
This is the final stage in the domain life cycle, which typically lasts 5 days. During this stage, the domain name is no longer visible in Domain Manager. It is being cleared and prepared for release into the public pool. Once the Pending Delete period ends, the domain name becomes available for registration.
Some TLDs are known for their unique life cycles. For example:
.EU — due to .EU domain rules, there is no Grace period. These domains enter Redemption one day before their expiration date. It's important to renew them in advance to avoid service interruption.
.TO — this TLD immediately goes offline when entering Grace due to the registry policy. Its reactivation period lasts 29 days.
.UK family domains (.UK, .CO.UK, .ME.UK, .ORG.UK) — these TLDs have a reactivation period that lasts 30 days, a redemption period that lasts 60 days, and a pending delete period that lasts 5 days.
.GG, .JE — These TLDs have a reactivation period that lasts 28 days, a redemption period that lasts 12 days, and a pending delete period that lasts 12 days
.IM family domains (.IM, .CO.IM, .COM.IM, .NET.IM, .ORG.IM) — These domains have a reactivation period that lasts 29 days, no redemption period, and no pending delete period. They also include 1 extra day of activity after the registration period ends. For instance, if the registration date is 2 Feb 2025, the domain expires on 3 Feb 2026.
.IT.COM — This TLD has a standard Grace period duration. However, like the .IM family domains, it also includes 1 extra day of activity after the registration period ends.
If you’re unsure whether your domain has a standard or non-standard life cycle, feel free to contact our Customer Support team for clarification.
If you want your domain name to remain under your control as long as you need it, consider taking some preventive measures to avoid expiration.
If your domain is active, you can add more years to it — up to a total of 10 years. For instance, if your domain currently expires in 2 years, you can add up to 8 more years to maximise its registration.
If your domain has already expired, you’ll need to renew it before you can add further years. The renewal process will add +1 year to the registration anyway. After it becomes active again, you’ll be able to add more years.
Registering domains for several years upfront is not always necessary, especially if you’re unsure about long-term use. As an alternative, you can enable auto-renewal, which will automatically extend your domain’s registration by 1 year upon expiration, provided the following:
You have sufficient funds or a valid payment method (e.g. credit card) linked to your account for recurring payments. You can manage this on the Payment Methods page of your Spaceship account.
Auto-renew is enabled. To check this, go to Domain Manager and ensure the "Auto-renew" toggle for your domain is in the "ON" position (green).
Once both of these conditions are met, your domain will be automatically renewed.
You can monitor the status and expiration dates of your domains directly in Domain Manager. As a domain approaches expiration, you’ll notice visual cues like colour changes and status updates. You can also renew or extend domains directly from this page.
Additionally, we’ll send reminders to the email address associated with your Spaceship account as your domain gets closer to its expiration date.
These options will help you keep your domains under control and prevent accidental expiration.