When Do .com Domains Drop? Expiration & Deletion Timeline
A .com domain takes about 80 days to drop after it expires, moving through Verisign's expiration and deletion stages before the name is released.
.com Expiration Timeline
- 1
Expiry
Registration ends
- 2
Grace Period (45d)
Verisign allows renewal without a redemption fee
- 3
Redemption (30d)
Recovery is still possible, usually for a redemption fee
- 4
Pending Delete (5d)
Locked, cannot be renewed or recovered
- 5
Drop
Deleted from the registry, open for new registration
Total time from expiry to drop: 80 days.
About the Verisign lifecycle
Verisign has operated the .com registry under contract with ICANN since 2001 and runs the largest and most heavily automated deletion pipeline in the industry, moving expired names through the same standard Redemption Grace Period rules that ICANN requires of every gTLD.
Track a .com domain's drop date
Check a specific .com domain's current status and estimated drop date, or set up a free alert so you know the moment it moves toward pending delete.
Frequently asked questions
How long after a .com domain expires before it drops?
A .com domain generally drops about 80 days after its expiration date: 45 days of grace, then 30 days of redemption, then 5 days of pending delete before deletion. Verisign can vary the exact timing within its published windows.
Can I re-register a .com domain the day it expires?
No. Expiration only starts the clock. The previous owner (or anyone who pays the redemption fee) can still recover a .com domain while it is in its recovery window. It is not open for new registration until it is deleted from the Verisign registry, roughly 80 days after expiration in the typical case.
What does the .com grace period mean?
During the 45-day grace period, the domain still resolves to the old owner's nameservers in most cases, and the registrar can restore it with a simple renewal, no redemption fee required. Once grace ends, recovery gets more expensive or closes entirely, and the domain becomes visible as "expired" to drop-catching tools.