Expired domains: frequently asked questions

A domain name whose owner did not renew it. After a grace period and a redemption period it is deleted by the registry and anyone can register it again. Many are sold at auction by the old registrar before that happens.

Yes. Once a name has been released, or is sold through the registrar's own expiry auction, you can register or buy it like any other name. The one legal risk is trademarks: a name that matches someone else's trademark can be taken from you through a domain dispute.

Only from registries and open data: Nominet's .uk drop list, Internet Stiftelsen's .se and .nu release lists, ICANN zone files for generic extensions, registry RDAP, the Internet Archive and Common Crawl. We never copy lists from other expired-domain sites.

Registry lists are checked every hour and imported as soon as they change. History, spam and other-extension checks run continuously, best names first. The daily briefing is rebuilt every hour.

Place a backorder with a drop-catching service before the drop. They try to register the name the instant it is deleted and you usually pay only if they catch it. For quieter names, registering at any registrar shortly after the drop often works.

Sometimes. A name with real, relevant links and a clean history can give a new site a head start, but search engines discount links when a name changes owner and topic, and a spammy past can hold a site back. Check every name before you buy it.

Our own 0 to 100 rating from the name's length, words, extension, how many other extensions are taken, its archive history, authority and spam check. Higher is better. It is an estimate, not an appraisal.

The registry had no registration record for the name when we last checked it. Names can be registered at any moment, so always confirm at a registrar. Our pages re-check names shown as available while you browse and mark any that have just been taken.

For generic extensions such as .com we see the day a name leaves the zone. Most are deleted about 35 days later, but the owner can still renew until then, so the date is an estimate. .uk dates come straight from Nominet and are exact.

Yes. Every list has an RSS feed for its current filters. Add it to a feed reader or a free RSS-to-email service and you will be told when new names match. You can also save searches and star names to your watchlist in your browser, with no account.

Yes. Every list has a Download CSV link for up to 1,000 names with your filters applied, and the same data is available as JSON through our free API.

Yes. /api/listings returns any filtered list as JSON, CSV or RSS, and /api/check gives the live registry status and history of one name. See the API page for the parameters.

No. We help you find and check names, then link to the registrar, auction house or drop-catching service that sells them. Some of those links are affiliate links, which never affect what we show.

Yes. The lists, filters, scores, briefing, tools and API are free to use.

In redemption the previous owner can still restore the name, usually for a fee. In pending delete nobody can renew it any more and it will be released within about five days.