Most of these registries leave the holder a window to save the name, but the length, the cost and the person who can act all differ. With a trustee on the record there is a second clock running.
An expired domain is rarely lost on the day. .no gives 90 days to extend, .eu holds the name in a 40-day quarantine, and .de and .fr give 30 days of redemption after deletion. Restoring costs more than renewing. If a trustee is the holder, their renewal is a separate contract from the one you pay the registrar for.
Whose expiry date is it
At three registries the date in your account is the registrar's deadline, not the registry's. DENIC's contract with the holder runs for an indefinite period (domain terms, section 7(1)). EURid renews tacitly each year unless a deletion request arrives through the registrar (terms, section 4). Afnic's policy says renewal is implied unless the registrar requests deletion (paragraph 48). The registry clock starts when the registrar acts, so what your registrar does after the date matters as much as the date.
The lifecycle, registry by registry
| Registry | After the expiry date | Who can still save it | Then |
|---|---|---|---|
| .no | A 90-day deletion process starts automatically and the holder is notified. Norid's FAQ puts the name in quarantine after 60 days. | Any registrar can extend it at any point in the 90 days. | Deleted from the database. The former holder has to register it anew. |
| .de | No registry expiry. When the registrar deletes, a 30-day Redemption Grace Period starts. | The last holder, or a person they name, through any provider. | Available to anyone to register. |
| .eu | A 40-day quarantine. Website and email stop working. | The holder, through the registrar or one it moves to. | Released for first come, first served registration. |
| .fr | The registrar deletes, and a 30-day redemption period starts. | Only the registrar that deleted it. | Back in the public domain (paragraph 134). |
| .it | Renewed automatically for a year, with a 15-day auto-renew period after the date. | After a deletion request, only the registrar, within 30 days. | Deleted once the 30 days end. |
The rules behind the table are specific. At .no, Norid says the former holder cannot simply renew after deletion and must register the name again at a registrar. At .de, DENIC charges nothing for the redemption period, but the provider's re-registration costs are passed on, and any other provider can restore with a transfer code DENIC posts to the holder. At .fr, a deletion Afnic orders after a failed eligibility check has no redemption period at all (paragraph 132). At .eu, a name revoked because the holder was not eligible can be reactivated only by EURid.
At .it the registry renews automatically and bills the registrar. If the registrar's credit runs short, the name waits up to 30 days and is recovered once credit returns. If the registrar has no contract with Registro.it, the holder gets 60 days to move to another one.
Note
What we did not check
What a restore costs
NOK 189 to €36
.no, late renewal at three registrars
€19 to €90
.de, restore at five registrars
€6 to £90
.eu, reactivation at six registrars
€20 to €50
.fr, restore at four registrars
These are ranges, each in the registrars' own currencies. Per registrar figures, and the many registrars that publish nothing, are on our price pages: from about NOK 189 to €36 on our .no price page, from about €19 to €90 on our .de price page, from about €6 to £90 on our .eu price page and from about €20 to €50 on our .fr price page. At .no the fee is only a late renewal, since Norid has no paid restore. At .fr, Afnic charges the registrar €5.07 for the restore (2026 schedule), so the rest is the registrar's margin. The cheapest renewal and the cheapest restore are rarely the same registrar. Turn on auto-renew.
The extra risk with a trustee
When a trustee is the holder, two renewals run side by side: the domain, which the trustee's registrar renews, and the service, which you renew with the trustee. Stopping one does not stop the other. Pay for the domain and let the service lapse, and the registry still shows the trustee as holder, while your contractual claim may have ended. Some terms are blunt about it: PTS can terminate once payment is more than twenty days late, and all your rights then lapse (see PTS Trustee). Others commit to move the domain to a registrar you name if they can no longer hold it, as Safenames does.
So diarise the trustee's term as well as the registrar's, and check who is paying whom. Our ownership guide explains why the contract is your only protection, and leaving a trustee service covers the move itself. Dates and prices on this site are explained in our methodology.
Next
Common questions
Can someone else register my domain the day after it expires?
Not at the registries covered here. .no keeps the name in a 90-day process, .eu in a 40-day quarantine, and at .de and .fr only the former holder can re-register during the 30-day period. Your registrar may act sooner than the registry, so ask when it deletes.
Is a restore the same as a renewal?
No. At .no extending during the process is an ordinary renewal. At .eu, .de and .fr a deleted name has to be reactivated, which registrars price above renewal.
What if I stop paying the trustee but keep paying for the domain?
The registry still lists the trustee. Your rights depend on the contract, and many end on non-payment. Pay both until the domain has moved to a holder you control.
Sources
- Norid, registering and updating domain namesThe 90-day deletion process.
- Norid, frequently asked questionsQuarantine after 60 days, deletion after 90.
- DENIC, domain terms and conditionsSection 7(1). German text; the English version is on denic.de.
- DENIC, Redemption Grace Period for .de
- EURid, Terms and Conditions for .eu domain namesSections 4 and 5. Version 13.0, October 2022.
- EURid, why is my domain name in quarantine
- Afnic, Naming PolicyParagraphs 48 and 130 to 134. Version of July 2026.
- Afnic, Procedure GuideDeletion and the 30-day redemption period. January 2024 edition.
- Afnic, Appendix 1, invoicing schedule 2026
- Registro.it, Regulation for the assignment and management of domain names in the ccTLD .itSection 4. Version 8.0, May 2022. Italian text prevails.
- Registro.it, Technical Guidelines for synchronous operationsDomain statuses. Version 3.2, January 2025.
- auDA, Domain Renewal, Expiry and Deletion Policy (2010-01)Archived. Cited only for its status.
Last updated October 2026. Registry timings and registrar practice change. Confirm the dates with your registrar before relying on them. If something here is out of date, email info@trusteeindex.com.