Registrar renewal emails: what registrars must send, why agencies miss them, and how to spot a scam

The reminders ICANN requires, the reasons they never reach the right person, and the signs of a fake renewal notice.

When a .com client domain expires, the registrar was required to send reminders first. The weak point is usually not the sending: the reminders can go to an address nobody reads, or look so much like the solicitations the same inbox receives that nobody opens them. This guide explains what registrars are required to send, why agencies miss it, and how to tell a real notice from a fake one.

What registrars must send

ICANN's rules apply to generic top-level domains (gTLDs) and to ICANN-accredited registrars. Three policies produce the emails registrants receive about a domain.

A few details from the policy text are useful to know:

• Who receives them. The reminders go to the Registered Name Holder, the registrant. If the domain is in the client's name, the reminders go to the client's contact address, not to the agency, unless the agency's address is the one on file.
• How. Notices must be sent in the language of the registration agreement and "in a manner, such as by email, that does not require affirmative action to receive the notification". Registrars may send more than two.
• Where it is documented. Each registrar must publish its renewal, late renewal and restore fees, and describe on its website how it sends the pre- and post-expiry notices. Resellers must show the same information.
• The yearly data reminder is not a renewal notice. It asks the registrant to check the registration data and reminds them that false contact details can be grounds for cancellation. It looks official because it is, but it does not mean the domain is about to expire.

After expiry, the registrar must also interrupt the domain's DNS for at least the last eight days during which it can still be renewed, and any web page it shows instead must say that the registration has expired and explain how to renew. Our guide on what happens when a domain expires covers that timeline, the grace period and redemption.

Country domains are different

ccTLDs such as .fr, .be, .ch or .uk are not bound by these ICANN policies. Their registries set their own rules, and reminders depend on the registry and on the registrar's contract. For a .fr domain, check the registrar's terms; for .uk, Nominet publishes its own renewal reminder process.

Why agencies miss renewal emails

The emails are required. Getting them read is another matter.

1. 1They go to the registrant, not to whoever manages the site. A client who registered the domain years ago, a freelancer who has since left, a former employee's mailbox: the registrar is doing its job, but the message lands with someone who will not act. Our guide on who should own a client domain covers how to set this up properly.
2. 2The address is on the domain that expires. ICANN's own best practices for registrars point out the problem: if the contact address uses the expiring domain, the post-expiry notice can fail once the DNS is interrupted. They recommend a secondary address not tied to the domain.
3. 3Spam filters. The same best practices suggest that registrars publish the address their notices come from, so that registrants can add it as a safe sender. Few people do.
4. 4They look like the scams. Fake renewal notices are common enough that ICANN lists them among the main scams aimed at registrants (see below). Once an inbox is used to them, a genuine "your domain is expiring" email is easy to ignore too.
5. 5Too many registrars. An agency that inherited client sites deals with several registrars and resellers, each with its own sender address, format and timing. Nobody can tell at a glance which message matters.
6. 6Auto-renewal is assumed. Auto-renewal only works if the payment method on the account is still valid and the option is actually on. The reminder that says otherwise is the one nobody reads.

How to spot a fake renewal notice

ICANN lists the common scams aimed at registrants: emails impersonating ICANN or an accredited registrar to collect a payment, phishing to steal registrar login details, and pressure to buy the same name under another extension at a higher price. A specific form is known as domain slamming: a notice that looks like a renewal but actually transfers the domain to another registrar, often at a higher price.

This is not new. In 2003, the US Federal Trade Commission settled charges with Network Solutions over mailings that looked like expiry notices from consumers' current registrars and offered to "renew" domains, without saying that accepting would transfer them. The same year, it obtained an order against Domain Registry of America, which according to the FTC had mailed millions of "renewal" notices that switched consumers' registrar. Afnic, the .fr registry, also publishes a guide on slamming and describes the "false renewal invoice" as one of its main forms.

Signs that a renewal email is not what it claims:

What to do with any renewal email:

1. 1Look up the domain yourself. ICANN's Lookup tool shows the registrar and the expiry date for gTLDs. If the email does not match, it is not from your registrar.
2. 2Renew from the registrar's site, typed by hand. Never from a link in an email you were not expecting.
3. 3Never send the transfer code unless you are transferring. The EPP or authorization code is what lets another registrar take the domain.
4. 4Keep the transfer lock on. ICANN explains that the clientTransferProhibited status makes the registry reject transfer requests, which helps prevent unauthorized transfers.
5. 5If a transfer happened without authorization, contact the original registrar first. ICANN states that it cannot force a domain back, but it takes unauthorized transfer complaints, and in some cases the registrar can start a dispute under the Transfer Dispute Resolution Policy.

A setup that does not depend on the inbox

1. 1Put an address you read on every client domain. A shared agency address, or the client's address plus yours, not a person's mailbox and not an address on the domain itself.
2. 2Add each registrar's sending address as a safe sender, and keep a list of which registrar holds which domain.
3. 3Keep your own record of every expiry date, read from the public registration data rather than typed by hand, so that a missed email is not the only warning.
4. 4Decide who renews. For each domain: who pays, who has access to the registrar account, and who is told when it is close.

Lapsentry does the last two for agencies. It reads each domain's expiry date and registrar from public registration data, with no registrar access needed, picks up renewals automatically, and sends its own alerts before expiry (from D-60 to D-1, depending on the plan) by email, Slack, Teams or SMS, to the team responsible and to the client if you add them.

Start your 14-day free trial: no card required.

Sources

• ICANN, Expired Registration Recovery Policy (updated 21 February 2024), including its notes and suggested best practices.
• ICANN, Registration Data Reminder Policy.
• ICANN, Important tips to help keep your domain name secure, EPP status codes and About unauthorized transfers.
• US Federal Trade Commission, Network Solutions Settles FTC Charges, 24 September 2003, and Court Bars Canadian Company from Misleading Consumers in Marketing of Internet Domain Name Services, 23 December 2003.
• Afnic, Slamming guide.
• Nominet, .uk renewal reminders.

FAQ

When should a registrar send a domain renewal reminder?

For gTLDs such as .com, at least twice before expiry: about one month before (26 to 35 days) and about one week before (4 to 10 days). If the domain is not renewed, a further notice must go out within five days after expiry.

Who receives the renewal emails?

The registrant, at the contact address on file with the registrar. If the domain is registered in the client's name with the client's address, the agency does not receive them.

Do .fr or .uk domains follow the same rules?

No. Country domains are not bound by ICANN's gTLD policies. Their registries and the registrar's contract decide which reminders are sent.

How can I tell if a domain renewal email is a scam?

Check that it comes from your current registrar, as shown in a WHOIS or RDAP lookup, and that the expiry date matches. Be wary of any email that asks you to pay through its own link, unlock the domain or send a transfer code.

What is domain slamming?

A notice designed to look like a renewal that actually transfers the domain to another registrar, usually at a higher price. The US FTC took action against this practice in 2003.

I keep getting emails asking me to check my domain's data. Is that a renewal?

No. ICANN's Registration Data Reminder Policy requires registrars to show registrants their registration data at least once a year and ask them to correct it. It is not an expiry notice.

Should I rely on registrar emails to avoid expired domains?

Not alone. They go to the registrant's address and are easy to miss. Keep your own record of expiry dates, read from public registration data, with alerts sent to someone who acts on them.

More guides

• What happens when a domain expires?
• Who should own a client domain?
• Orphaned subdomains: what they are and how to find them
• Let's Encrypt moves to 64-day certificates: what agencies need to check