Question 1

What is DomainExpiryCheck?

Accepted Answer

A domain expiry monitoring tool for domain owners and domain hunters. Track expiration dates, get alerts before domains expire, and monitor drop timelines for domains you want to acquire. Free for up to 3 domains.

Question 2

How does domain expiry monitoring work?

Accepted Answer

We check your domains daily via WHOIS and RDAP lookups. For owned domains, you get automatic alerts at 30, 14, 7, 3 and 1 day before expiry. For watchlist domains, our 6-stage tracker monitors the full post-expiry lifecycle - escalating from daily alerts to every-minute checks as the domain approaches availability.

Question 3

Can I monitor domains I don't own?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Add any registered domain to your Watchlist to track its expiry date, post-expiry phase, and estimated drop date. This is useful for acquiring domains when they expire and become available for registration.

Question 4

What's the difference between My Domains and Watchlist?

Accepted Answer

My Domains is for domains you own - you get automatic expiry alerts and transfer lock detection. Watchlist is for domains you want to acquire - you get a visual 6-stage tracker that escalates notifications as the domain moves through grace, redemption, pending delete, and finally becomes available.

Question 5

Can I import domains in bulk?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Go to Domains → Import. Upload a CSV or TXT file, or paste domain names directly (one per line). You can import up to 500 domains at once. Invalid entries are automatically skipped.

Question 6

How many domains can I monitor?

Accepted Answer

Free: 3 domains. Starter ($6/yr): 20. Basic ($10/yr): 50. Pro ($20/yr): 100. Business ($30/yr): 200. Agency ($50/yr): 500. Enterprise plans are available for larger portfolios.

Question 7

How often are domain expiry dates checked?

Accepted Answer

All domains are refreshed daily via WHOIS or RDAP. Watchlist domains in Pending Delete are checked every 2 hours. In the final countdown (last 24 hours before estimated drop), checks increase to every minute - all automatic, no configuration needed.

Question 8

How accurate are the expiry dates?

Accepted Answer

We query live data from the authoritative registry for each TLD. Dates are as accurate as the registry itself. In rare cases, a registrar may report dates that include the grace period, which can differ by a few days.

Question 9

What TLDs do you support?

Accepted Answer

All of them. We support over 10,000 TLDs from the Mozilla Public Suffix List - including .com, .net, .org, all new gTLDs (.app, .dev, .xyz, .online), and country-code TLDs (.uk, .de, .co.za, .com.au). For new or rare TLDs, our AI automatically learns the WHOIS format.

Question 10

What notification channels are supported?

Accepted Answer

Email and webhooks (HTTP POST with HMAC-SHA256 signing). Add multiple channels - all enabled channels receive every notification automatically. Weekly digest emails summarise all domains expiring in the next 30 days.

Question 11

How do watchlist stage notifications work?

Accepted Answer

Watchlist domains are tracked through 6 stages: Registered, Grace Period, Redemption, Pending Delete, Final Countdown, and Available. At each stage transition you get an automatic email. During Pending Delete you get daily updates. In the Final Countdown (last 24 hours) WHOIS is checked every minute. As soon as the domain drops, you get an urgent 'Available' alert.

Question 12

What does 'Transfer lock missing' mean?

Accepted Answer

Your domain doesn't have the clientTransferProhibited status code, which means someone could initiate a transfer without your knowledge. This is a security risk - contact your registrar to enable the transfer lock.

Question 13

What happens after a domain expires?

Accepted Answer

It goes through up to four phases: Grace Period (renew at normal price, ~30 days) → Redemption Period (renew at high cost, ~30 days) → Pending Delete (cannot renew, ~5 days) → Dropped (available for registration). The total time varies by TLD and registrar.

Question 14

How long from expiry until a domain becomes available?

Accepted Answer

Typically 65 days for ICANN gTLDs (30 grace + 30 redemption + 5 pending delete). Country-code TLDs vary widely - some as short as 30 days, others over 90. We research the exact lifecycle for each TLD automatically.

Question 15

What does the Estimated Drop Date mean?

Accepted Answer

For Watchlist domains, we calculate when the domain will likely become available for registration: expiry date plus the grace, redemption, and pending delete periods for that TLD. This is an estimate - actual timing can vary by hours or days.

Question 16

What are the 6 tracking stages for Watchlist domains?

Accepted Answer

Stage 1: Registered (monitoring only). Stage 2: Grace Period (owner can renew at normal price). Stage 3: Redemption (renewal costly, domain likely to drop). Stage 4: Pending Delete (daily alerts, 2-hour checks). Stage 5: Final Countdown (last 24h - every-minute checks, email as soon as it drops). Stage 6: Available (urgent alert - register now!). If the owner renews at any stage, you're notified and the tracker resets.

Question 17

What is the Stage Tracker on Watchlist domains?

Accepted Answer

A visual 6-stage stepper on the domain detail page. Completed stages show a checkmark, the current stage pulses with a colour-coded indicator, and future stages are locked. As the domain progresses through post-expiry phases, stages unlock automatically and notifications escalate.

Question 18

Can I renew a domain after it expires?

Accepted Answer

If you're the owner: yes, during the grace period at normal price, and during redemption at a much higher fee (often $80-200+). After pending delete begins, recovery is no longer possible and the domain will be released to the public.

Question 19

What is the difference between WHOIS and RDAP?

Accepted Answer

WHOIS is the traditional domain lookup protocol. RDAP is its modern, more reliable replacement used by most major registries. We use RDAP when available, with WHOIS as fallback - you get the most accurate data either way.

Question 20

Why are some WHOIS fields showing 'REDACTED FOR PRIVACY'?

Accepted Answer

GDPR requires registrars to redact personal data (name, address, phone) from public WHOIS since May 2018. This doesn't affect the data we need - expiry dates, registrar info, status codes, and nameservers are still publicly available.

Question 21

Which TLDs support RDAP?

Accepted Answer

Most gTLDs (.com, .net, .org, .app, .dev, .xyz, .online, etc.) support RDAP. Many country-code TLDs (.io, .de, .co, .jp, .ru) still use WHOIS only. We automatically detect and use whichever protocol is available for each TLD.

Question 22

How does the AI schema generation work?

Accepted Answer

When we encounter a new TLD, we automatically learn its data format so we can extract expiry dates, registrar info, and status codes. This happens in seconds and means we support virtually any TLD without manual setup.

Question 23

What data do you store from WHOIS lookups?

Accepted Answer

Domain name, registrar, expiry/creation/update dates, status codes, and nameservers. We do not store or display registrant personal data. All data is stored on EU servers under GDPR.

Question 24

What are EPP status codes?

Accepted Answer

Extensible Provisioning Protocol status codes indicate a domain's state - locked for transfer, pending renewal, on hold, etc. We detect these automatically from WHOIS and RDAP data and flag any security concerns.

Question 25

Why should I care if my domain is missing a transfer lock?

Accepted Answer

Without clientTransferProhibited or serverTransferProhibited, your domain could be transferred to another registrar without your knowledge. This is one of the most common vectors for domain hijacking. Most registrars enable it by default, but it's worth verifying.

Question 26

How do I enable transfer lock on my domain?

Accepted Answer

Log in to your domain registrar (GoDaddy, Namecheap, Cloudflare, etc.) and look for Domain Lock, Transfer Lock, or Registrar Lock in the domain settings. Toggle it on. We'll detect the change on the next daily check.

Question 27

What does serverHold or clientHold mean?

Accepted Answer

These status codes mean the domain has been suspended - it won't resolve in DNS. serverHold is set by the registry (often for non-payment or policy violation), while clientHold is set by the registrar.

Question 28

What are webhook notifications?

Accepted Answer

HTTP POST requests sent to a URL you specify when domain events occur - expiry approaching, phase change, domain dropped, etc. Useful for Slack integrations, automation pipelines, and drop-catching scripts.

Question 29

Are webhook payloads signed?

Accepted Answer

Yes. If you provide a signing secret, payloads are signed with HMAC-SHA256. The signature is in the X-DEC-Signature header as sha256=<hex>. Verify this server-side to ensure the payload is authentic and hasn't been tampered with.

Question 30

Can I test my webhook before going live?

Accepted Answer

Yes. In Notifications, click the Test button next to your webhook channel. We'll send a sample payload so you can verify your endpoint receives and processes it correctly before any real alerts fire.

Question 31

Can I use webhooks for drop-catching automation?

Accepted Answer

Absolutely. Set up a webhook and listen for domain.phase_changed events. When a Watchlist domain enters Pending Delete, your script can automatically trigger backorders or other acquisition workflows.

Question 32

What's included in the free plan?

Accepted Answer

Monitor up to 3 domains, automatic email alerts at 30, 14, 7, 3 and 1 day before expiry, WHOIS/RDAP data for all TLDs, transfer lock detection, and watchlist tracking with the 6-stage tracker. No credit card required.

Question 33

How does billing work?

Accepted Answer

All paid plans are billed annually via Stripe. Your subscription renews automatically at the end of each year. You can manage your subscription and download invoices from the Billing page.

Question 34

Can I upgrade or downgrade my plan?

Accepted Answer

Yes, at any time from the Billing page. When upgrading, you receive a pro-rata credit for the unused portion of your current plan. Downgrades take effect at the end of your billing period.

Question 35

Can I cancel my subscription?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Cancel anytime from the Billing page. You keep access until the end of your current billing period. Existing domains remain monitored until then.

Question 36

Is my payment information secure?

Accepted Answer

We never see or store your card details. All payment processing is handled by Stripe, which is PCI DSS Level 1 certified - the highest level of payment security certification.

Question 37

I didn't receive the magic link email. What do I do?

Accepted Answer

Check your spam/junk folder. Magic links expire after 15 minutes. If it still doesn't arrive, try again - some email providers delay delivery. Gmail users should also check the Promotions tab.

Question 38

My domain shows 'Error' status. What happened?

Accepted Answer

The WHOIS/RDAP lookup failed. Common causes: the registry was temporarily down, the domain doesn't exist in the registry, or the TLD has restricted access. Click the Refresh button on the domain detail page to retry.

Question 39

The estimated drop date passed but the domain is still taken. Why?

Accepted Answer

Estimated drop dates are approximations. The domain owner may have renewed during grace or redemption, or the registry delayed the deletion. Actual drop times can vary by hours or even days from the estimate.

Question 40

Why is a 'Lifecycle researching' banner showing on my domain?

Accepted Answer

We're looking up the post-expiry lifecycle for this TLD (grace, redemption, and pending delete durations). This usually completes in under a minute. The estimated drop date will be calculated once the research is complete.

Question 41

My domain shows the wrong expiry date. What can I do?

Accepted Answer

Some registrars report dates that include the grace period. Try clicking Refresh for a fresh lookup from the authoritative registry. If the date is still incorrect, contact us via Support with the expected date and we'll investigate.

Frequently Asked Questions

Getting Started

Monitoring & Alerts

Domain Lifecycle & Drop Phases

WHOIS, RDAP & Privacy

Transfer Lock & Security

Webhooks & Integrations

Billing & Account

Troubleshooting

Still have questions?