Your .com Expired and Everything Stopped: The Recovery Timeline

For roughly the first thirty days after expiry, a .com is usually renewable at the normal price. The website and email are down, but nothing is lost. This is the cheapest and easiest moment to act, and the one most often wasted arguing about who was supposed to renew it.

After the grace period the name enters redemption, typically for another thirty days. It can still be restored, but the registry adds a restoration fee that dwarfs the annual price. Get the exact figure in writing before authorising anyone to proceed.

Next comes a short pending-delete window, after which the name is released to the public. Names with any traffic or backlinks are caught within seconds by automated catching services, and then resold. A backorder placed before the drop is the only realistic way to compete.

Two honest options remain: negotiate a purchase, quietly and without revealing that the buyer is the original owner, or rely on a registered trademark if you hold one. Neither is guaranteed. Anyone promising certain recovery is selling you hope.

When we recover a name, mail routing comes before the website. A day of a down website costs you visitors; a day of down email costs you invoices, purchase orders and the trust of clients who think you ignored them.