Renewing a domain and preventing expiry.
How auto-renewal works, what happens at each expiry stage, and how to recover an expired domain before it's gone forever.
A lapsed domain is the #1 cause of "I lost my business overnight" stories. This is how to avoid that.
Auto-renewal
Auto-renewal is on by default for all domains at Rivervo. We charge your saved card 7 days before expiry. If the charge succeeds, the domain renews and you don't have to think about it.
Manage in Panel → Domains → [your domain] → Auto-Renewal.
If you want to renew manually instead, turn auto-renewal off here. We'll send three reminder emails (30 days, 14 days, 1 day before expiry).
What happens if you miss the renewal
Domain expiry has stages:
| Stage | Days after expiry | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Grace period | 1‑30 days | Domain stops resolving (visitors see error). You can still renew at normal price. |
| Redemption | 31‑60 days | Renewal costs ~$80 redemption fee + normal renewal. |
| Pending Delete | 61‑75 days | Cannot be recovered. Drops to public on day 75. |
| Anyone can register | 75+ days | Whoever registers first gets it. |
So you have ~30 days before it gets expensive, ~75 days before it's lost forever.
Multi-year registration
Best protection — register for 2 or 3 years up front. Less to forget about, and you lock in the current price (registries occasionally raise prices, but your prepaid years are guaranteed at the rate you paid).
We support up to 10-year terms on most TLDs.
What "domain expired" looks like
Day 1 after expiry: the domain stops resolving. Visitors see "this site can't be reached" or a parking page (depending on the registry).
Day 1 after expiry, your email also stops — MX records can't resolve. Anyone trying to email you bounces.
This is why we send reminders 30 / 14 / 1 days before. Add noreply@rivervo.com to your safe sender list so the reminders don't go to spam.
Recovering during grace (days 1‑30)
- Panel → Domains → [domain] → Renew
- Pay normal renewal fee
- Domain starts resolving within 1‑6 hours
Recovering during redemption (days 31‑60)
- Open a support ticket — this can't be self-served
- Pay redemption fee (~$80) + normal renewal
- Domain restored, but DNS resolution takes longer (12‑48h typical)
After day 75
The domain is in the public pool. Some auction services (NameJet, GoDaddy Auctions) bid on these — if your domain has any commercial value, expect to pay $500+ to buy it back. Most domains drop to anyone-can-register and you can re-register at $10‑15 — but anyone else can too, and they often do.
Don't be that person
Set auto-renewal on. Add a backup credit card. Keep the email associated with your registrar account fresh. We'll do our part with reminders and grace periods, but the final responsibility is yours.