Domain registration
Never let a domain expire by accident. We'll warn you well in advance.
What domain registration monitoring does
Domain expiry monitoring tracks the WHOIS registration record for your domain — registrar, renewal date, nameservers, and status — so you know well in advance when renewal is due. Letting a domain name expire is one of those things that shouldn't happen, but does — usually because a credit card on file expired or an auto-renew setting got turned off by mistake. If your domain lapses, your entire site goes offline and a domain squatter could even snap it up. DomainDash queries your domain's public WHOIS data so you always know when renewal is due and can act before it's too late.
What we track
We look up your domain's public registration information and show you the details that matter:
- Registrar: the company your domain is registered with (like Namecheap, GoDaddy, or Cloudflare)
- Organisation: the organisation listed as the domain owner, if available
- Registered date: when the domain was first registered
- Expiry date: when the domain registration runs out
- Last updated: when the registration details were last changed
- DNSSEC: whether DNS Security Extensions are enabled, adding an extra layer of protection against DNS tampering
- Nameservers: the servers currently responsible for your domain's DNS records
The page also shows a registration progress bar that gives you a visual sense of how far through your current registration period you are. As the expiry date gets closer, it changes colour from green to amber to red.
Expiry warnings
DomainDash starts warning you as your domain's expiry date approaches:
| Time remaining | What you'll see |
|---|---|
| More than 30 days | Status shows as Active. Everything is fine. |
| 30 days or fewer | Status changes to Expiring and you'll see an amber warning banner. |
| 14 days or fewer | The warning becomes more urgent with a red critical banner. |
| Expired | Status shows as Expired and the banner tells you to renew immediately. |
These warnings appear on the site overview page as well as the registration detail page, so you won't miss them even if you don't visit the registration section directly.
Once a domain has expired, recovery is possible but expensive. ICANN's Expired Registration Recovery Policy gives gTLD registrants a brief grace period after expiry, but most registrars then move the domain into redemption (with extra recovery fees) before it's released for anyone to register. The cheapest moment to renew is always before the expiry date — which is why we warn you 30 days out.
Turn on auto-renew
The best way to avoid domain expiry is to make sure auto-renew is turned on with your registrar. Most registrars offer this option. Even with auto-renew enabled, DomainDash gives you a safety net. We'll still warn you if the domain gets close to expiry, which can happen if the renewal payment fails.
Check history
Like all monitoring features, DomainDash keeps a history of every registration lookup we've run. Each entry shows the status at the time of the check, the registrar, and when it was checked. This gives you a record of any changes to your domain's registration details over time.
Frequently asked questions
How early does DomainDash warn me before my domain expires?
DomainDash starts surfacing expiry warnings 30 days before your domain registration runs out. The status changes from Active to Expiring with an amber banner, then becomes a red critical banner at 14 days. If the domain expires, the status changes to Expired with an urgent banner telling you to renew immediately.
What is WHOIS data?
WHOIS is the public registration record for a domain name. It includes the registrar (the company you registered the domain with), the registration and expiry dates, the nameservers, and (when not redacted) contact details for the registrant. DomainDash uses WHOIS to track when your domain expires.
Does DomainDash check WHOIS for every TLD?
DomainDash supports WHOIS lookups for all major TLDs (.com, .net, .org, .io, .co.uk, .dev, etc.) plus most country-code TLDs. A few obscure TLDs have unreliable WHOIS servers. If a lookup fails, DomainDash retries and surfaces a WHOIS lookup failed status rather than guessing.
Can DomainDash renew my domain automatically?
No. DomainDash monitors your domain and warns you when renewal is due, but it doesn't renew domains for you — that has to happen with your registrar. The best safeguard is to turn on auto-renew with your registrar; DomainDash gives you a safety net if auto-renew fails (for example, because the credit card on file expired).
How often does DomainDash run domain registration checks?
Domain registration checks run between every 6 hours and once a week, configurable per site. Because registration data changes infrequently, weekly checks are usually enough — but more frequent checks are available if you're tracking renewals closely.
Related
- DNS health for monitoring your domain's routing records
- Domain registration troubleshooting for step-by-step guides when a domain registration check fails
- Domain expired — your registration has lapsed and your site is down
- Domain expiring soon — your domain is within 30 days of its renewal date
- Domain suspended or on hold — your registrar has placed a hold on the domain
- WHOIS lookup failed — DomainDash can't query the registration record