Domain name renewal FAQ

To renew a domain name, simply proceed with the renewal instructions in the email reminder that was sent to the contacts of the domain name. Note that the domain name can be renewed by any Gandi handle (unless managed by a reseller). For complete step-by-step renewal instructions, visit the wiki renewal section here.

A domain can be renewed at any time except:

• If the domain is not registered with Gandi
• If the domain has the status “Redemption Period” or “Pending Delete” (domain expired, and already deleted from our database) (see Restoring a domain name)
• During the 15-day period before an outgoing transfer.

It is not neither necessary nor recommended to wait until the last minute to renew, because:

• There is no advantage to doing so, since a renewal adds a full year to the expiration date, not the renewal date
• You risk a disruption in service: website, e-mail would be pulled offline
• You risk losing the domain: once the domain is deleted, it can be registered by anyone on a first-come, first-served basis
• Certain TLDs enter redemption and are deleted before their expiration date

See Automatic renewal of domain names →

Technically speaking, you do not need any password to renew a domain name.

During the renewal process you will have the opportunity to create a new account, which you will then be able to use to renew the domain name. Choose “You do not yet have a Gandi handle” on the login page.

At Gandi, domain names are not automatically renewed.

If you do not renew before the expiration date, the domain will no longer be active (HOLD status: no website, no e-mail). This suspension period applies to all domain names except .FR, .EU and .BE TLDs. The duration varies according to the TLD. During this period, you can reactivate the domain name by renewing in the usual manner. In the event of a late renewal, we reactivate the domain as soon as we receive your payment. The reactivation will be propagated across the Internet within a half-day.

If you do not renew, we send the deletion command to the Registry, after which the delay before a total deletion varies.

During this second period, standard renewal is no longer possible, and the domain can only be restored. Please be aware that, since restoration fees are much higher by the Registry than an ordinary renewal, the restoration process is more expensive.

This depends on the extension. At the time you make your order, you will have the ability to choose the number of years, depending on what the registry allows. This is usually up to 10 years, but can be as few as 1, depending on the extension.

You can arrange the same approximate expiration date for your domains, but it is not possible to manually set the exact expiration date for each.

For .com/.net domain names, the Registry (Verisign) can provide registrars with a ConsoliDate service, which enables to add up to 11 months to a domain name. Gandi does not provide this service.

However, you can normally still renew all of your domains at the same time each year, even if they do not have the exact same expiration date.

If you receive a renewal reminder from Domain Registry of America, please, ignore it!

We have no connection with that company. Your domain cannot be registered with their services, and that company is not an ICANN accredited registrar.

If you have not already transferred your domain to them, it is still registered at Gandi. You can check this in the Whois database. Pay particular attention to the lines “Registrar” and “Expires”.

We plan to take action against this company. If you wish to support this action, feel free to contact us so that your case will also be filed, and you may even send us a copy of the DROA letter.

Please also notice that you can protect your domains against fraudulent transfers by activating Transfer Protection from your “Domains” page (not all extensions support this status).