Domain Pending Delete is a status you might see if you fail to renew your domain name. Registrars give you plenty of time to renew your domain name before it enters this status, but it’s important to know what your options are if you end up with a domain name pending delete.

Read on to learn how to delete a domain and the natural domain lifecycle.

What Happens When You Register a Domain Name?

As a website owner, you can purchase a domain name through a registrar. This registrar will reserve the domain name you want and register it with ICANN.

ICANN is the organization that manages the domain name system, among other things. It’s responsible for operating a database that associates I.P. addresses with their domain names.

However, you can’t register your domain name with ICANN directly and have to go through a registrar.

ICANN lets you register a domain name to a specific I.P. address for up to ten years. However, most registrars offer plans with shorter terms.

At the end of your registration period, you’ll have to renew the domain name or potentially deal with your domain status switching to domain pending delete.

How to Renew Your Domain Name

When your domain registration expires, the domain name will enter a grace period. This period can last from zero to 45 days, depending on the registrar you used.

In most cases, you’ll receive a notification before the domain name expires so you can renew it before the grace period starts.

Some registrars offer auto-renew options. Enabling auto-renew usually means you will renew your domain registration before it enters the grace period.

Your domain registration will not change during the grace period. ICANN will still associate your I.P. address with your domain name, and visitors will still be able to access your website with the registered URL.

Your domain name will no longer redirect visitors to your I.P. address at the end of the grace period. If you used email addresses for your domain name, you’ll lose access to these addresses.

Your domain name will enter a new status known as the redemption period.

The redemption period lasts 30 days. You can still renew your domain name during this period, but your registrar will charge you an additional fee.

What Happens If You Don’t Renew Your Domain During the Redemption Period?

If you let the grace period and redemption period go by, your domain name will enter the pending delete domain status.

This period lasts for five days. Once your domain enters the domain pending delete status, you can’t renew it or make changes to the registration information.

You can think of this status as a temporary hold on your domain name before ICANN releases it again for registration.

Once the five days are up, your domain name will become available again. However, any registrar will be able to register it, and there is no guarantee you’ll be able to register this same domain name again.

What Happens After You Delete a Domain Name?

Your domain name will eventually get the pending delete status if you fail to renew it, but the same thing can happen if you delete your domain manually.

When you delete your domain name through your registrar, you’ll get a redemption period of 30 days.

Visitors won’t be able to access your I.P. address by clicking on your URL, but you’ll still have the possibility of reversing your decision and recovering your domain name.

After these 30 days, your domain status will change to domain status deleted, and you’ll have to wait five days for ICANN to release your domain name for registration.

Can You Recover Pending Delete Domains?

ICANN will not let registrars make any changes to domains that are in the pending delete category. However, the domain name will become available for registration again after five days.

You can register the domain name again with any registrar of your choice after these five days. However, there is no guarantee that you’ll be the first one who attempts to register this domain name.

You can increase your chances of recovering your old domain name by using a backorder system. Some registrars offer this automated service to register a domain name the minute it becomes available again.

However, other users might place orders through other automated systems, and there is no guarantee you’ll be able to register your domain again.

How to Check Your Domain Status

You can check your current domain status by using ICANN’s lookup tool.

All you have to do is enter your domain name, and you’ll see its current status when the registration will expire and the name of your current registrar.

Final Thoughts

Once your domain name status switches to domain pending delete, you won’t be able to recover it unless you wait five days and register the domain again.

However, ICANN and your registrar should give you plenty of time to renew your registration with a grace and redemption period.