Briefly speaking, the domain life consists of these periods:
- Available
- Active
- Grace period
- Redemption period
- Pending Deletion
- A domain is deleted – returns to the Available state
Below you can find a visualization of the domain life cycle and an explanation for each period:
Table of Contents
Available
The domain starts its life cycle by being Available. Once you have chosen your desired domain name, you can check if it is available HERE.
Active
If your chosen domain is available then you can make the domain Active by purchasing it. Usually, the Active period lasts 1 year until expiration. During this period the domain owner needs to renew it in order to keep the ownership.
Grace period
Once the domain reaches its expiry date and has not been renewed, it enters the Grace period which varies from 30 days to 45 days. During this period you have a chance to redeem your domain name with no risk of deletion.
The Grace period does not include any additional fees – you can simply renew the domain with the standard renewal price. At the moment, the following domain TLD’s do not have a grace period: .online, .pw, .site, .space, .store, .tech, .website, .xyz (these domains enter the Redemption period right after the expiry date).
Redemption period
After the Grace Period, the domain enters the Redemption period (sometimes referred to as the Redemption Grace period), which lasts for 30 days. Usually, the renewal of the domain name during this period has an additional fee. The fee varies depending on the TLD.
Pending Deletion
When the Redemption Period ends, your domain is now in the Pending Deletion stage. During this period you do not have any further options but to wait until the domain name has been deleted and you are able to re-purchase it again.
This article taken from Hostinger website
https://support.hostinger.com/en/articles/3004042-what-happens-when-a-domain-expires
