Auto-bill and next-bill
How do I submit a renewal request?
You should use our registrar systems to submit a renewal request.
How do I know which domain names are due to be renewed?
We will send you a three month advance warning of domain names that are due to be renewed. For example, a list of domain names due to expire in June 2008 will be sent to you on 1 March 2008.
All registrars are opted into this system, so that everyone receives advance notice of the domain names on their tag that are due to expire. If you wish to opt out of this email, unsubscribe details are provided in the footer of the email.
You can also use the Automaton list or bulk operations to return a list of domain names due to expire in a specified month.
Which date should I work to under the renewals system, the expiry/renewal date or the invoicing date?
The renewals system is built around the renewal date of the domain name. If any changes are to be made to the domain name, you must ensure these changes are made before the expiry date. For example, you may want to update the registrant fields before we issue a pro forma invoice to the registrant.
If the auto-bill or next-bill field is set, any changes must be made before midnight one clear day before the date indicated by the value in the field. (See Section 2, 'Auto-bill and next-bill' for further details.)
How far in advance of expiry can I renew a domain name?
You can renew a domain name up to six months prior to the expiry date.
Can another registrar renew a domain name associated with my tag?
No, only the current registrar can submit a renewal request.
Can I renew a domain name after it has expired?
If you are unsure whether your customer wants to renew a domain name before its expiry and you do not submit a renewal request, a renewal reminder will be issued to the registrant on the day after expiry. If this causes the registrant to contact you to confirm that they do wish to renew through you, you can then submit a renewal request through our registrar systems. The fee for the domain name will be added to the next renewals invoice we send to you. If you do not renew the domain name seven days after expiry, we will send a pro forma invoice to the registrant.
How many times can I renew a domain name in one renewal period?
You can only submit one renewal request per domain name per renewal period. For example, if a registrar submits a renewal request well in advance of expiry but does not pay the renewal fee within credit terms of our invoice, when the expiry date is reached we will issue a pro forma invoice to the registrant. The registrar cannot submit a second renewal request to extend the payment terms instead of paying the original invoice.
I have accidentally sent in a renewal request for a domain name. What should I do?
Once you have submitted a renewal request you cannot cancel the request. The renewal fee will be added to your next renewals invoice and you should pay this in your usual way. We will not issue any credit notes unless they are subject to the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 or similar laws amending or replacing it.
What happens if a domain name is not renewed before expiry?
If you do not submit a renewal request before expiry, we will email a renewal reminder to the registrant. This will notify the registrant that the domain name is due for renewal and advise them to contact their registrar. If the domain name has still not been renewed seven days after expiry, we will issue a pro forma invoice to the registrant. The registrant will have 30 days to pay the invoice or ask you to submit a renewal request. If they do not do this by the end of this period, the domain name will be suspended. It will then be cancelled 60 days after suspension.
If a domain name associated with your tag is suspended you will still be able to make changes to the domain name including submitting a renewal request.
What will happen if a registrar has submitted a renewal request but does not pay the invoice to terms?
If a registrar has submitted a renewal request but the invoice is not paid to terms, we will send the registrant a pro forma invoice by post and email once the domain name reaches the expiry date. The original invoice that was sent to the registrar will not be credited and will still need to be paid.
What is the auto-bill field?
The auto-bill field is used to indicate how many days before expiry you wish to renew a domain name.
You can set the auto-bill field on a domain name with a value between 1 and 182 where the value indicates the number of days before expiry that the domain name will be renewed. The field will default to 'off' and will be set to 'off' if the tag is changed.
If a value has been set in the auto-bill field, the domain name will be renewed when the relevant point in time arrives as if you have submitted a renewal request. We will include the renewal fees for the domain name in your next renewals invoice.
The auto-bill field cannot be set retrospectively so the value added to the field must be in the future. The value in the field must be added at least one clear day in advance of the day given as the field value. For example, if you want to set the value to 10 (that is auto-bill 10 days prior to expiry) you can add the field value up to midnight on day 12 (that is 12 days prior to expiry). In this example, if a domain name is due to expire on the 20th of the month and you want to add a field value of 10, you could add this field value up until midnight on the 8th of the month.
Of course, if you do not have sufficient time to add an auto-bill field before the domain name expires you can always submit a renewal request.
I host a number of domain names that should always be renewed. How do I ensure that these domain names 'automatically' renew every two years?
You can indicate all the domain names that you wish to renew by setting the auto-bill field on the register entry for each domain name. For example, if you want to ensure that all the domain names registered to you as the registrar are renewed every two years, without having to worry about submitting a renewal request each time, you could set the field value to be 1. This would ensure that a renewal request is generated automatically one day prior to expiry and the renewal fee will be added to the next renewals invoice generated.
Alternatively, if you have a client who is keen to see that their domain name has been renewed well in advance of expiry, you could choose to set the field value to any value up to 182. If the auto-bill field value is set to 90 this would mean that an invoice is generated in the next available invoice run after day 90 (that is expiry date minus 90 days) is reached.
Can I set an auto-bill field for all the domain names on our tag and decide whether we want to renew the domain names when we receive Nominet's invoice?
If you are concerned about forgetting to renew any of the domain names associated with your tag, you could set the auto-bill for all the domain names associated with your tag. However, once a renewal request has been generated, you will not be able to cancel the renewal and receive a credit note.
I have set an auto-bill field for a domain name but now the registrant has said they don't want to renew the domain name. What should I do?
The answer depends on when you find out that the renewal is not required. It is possible to change the field value up to one clear day in advance of the day given as the field value. So if the value is set to 1 (that is auto-bill 1 day prior to expiry) you can change the value of this field up to midnight on day 3 (that is 3 days prior to expiry). In this example, if a domain name is due to expire on the 12th of the month and the field value is set to 1, it would be possible to delete this value up until midnight on the 9th of the month.
Therefore, if the registrant tells you they do not want to renew the domain name before this time, you can simply delete the field value by changing the value to 0. However if the registrant contacts you after this point has passed, the domain name will be renewed automatically, an invoice will be generated and no credit note will be issued.
How do I get a domain name to renew automatically just the next time but not after that?
This is accomplished by setting the next-bill field. You can set the next-bill field on a domain name with a value between 1 and 182, indicating how many days before expiry you wish to renew the domain name. The field is set for a single registration period only. When the relevant point in time arrives, the domain name will be renewed as if a renewal request has been received, and the field will be reset to a null value.
You can change or cancel the next-bill field one clear day before the day indicated by the field value. Requests must be received by midnight. Therefore, if the next-bill field has been set to 10 for a domain name due to expire on the 20th of the month, you can change the next-bill field up until midnight on the 8th of the month. To cancel a next-bill request, you should set the field value to 0.
Note: You cannot set both the next-bill and auto-bill fields.
I don't want to receive a renewal invoice for some of the domain names that are due to expire this month. Should I detag the domain names?
You do not need to detag domain names to avoid the renewal fees appearing on your invoice. If you simply leave the domain name (and there is no value in the auto-bill or next-bill fields), when the expiry date is reached we will send a renewal reminder by email to the addresses provided in the reg-email and billing email fields. If the domain name has still not been renewed seven days after expiry, we will then send a pro forma invoice by email and post to the registrant at the 'Registrant address' fields provided on the register.
As well as requesting payment for the renewal fee at the non-member rate, we will advise the registrant of their registrar's name and URL, and that they may wish to contact their registrar to renew through them. We will explain that the registrant may receive a lower renewal rate if they choose to renew through their registrar. We will also make it clear that we are seeking payment for the renewal fee only and that fees for any other services provided by their registrar, host or ISP must be settled directly with them.
When would I detag domain names?
Detagging should only be used to indicate a permanent end to your relationship with the registrant. If it is simply the case that you haven't been able to make contact with your customer but would like to retain them if possible, you should take no action and hopefully when we contact them they will make contact with you.
If my customer gets in touch after they have received a renewal reminder or a pro forma invoice from Nominet what should I do?
If your customer makes contact you can submit a renewal request through our registrar systems at any time after expiry until the domain name is cancelled for non-payment. The domain name will be added to the next renewals invoice that we send to you.
I don't know if my customer wants to renew their domain name and I don't want to risk renewing their domain name in case they don't pay me for the renewal fee. What should I do?
If you simply leave a domain name to expire, we will automatically send the registrant a renewal reminder email on expiry. We will send a pro forma invoice seven days later if the domain name has still not been renewed. If the registrant then contacts you and asks to renew through you, you can submit a renewal request through our registrar systems at any time after expiry, including if the domain name is suspended, until the domain name is cancelled for non-payment. The domain name will be added to the next renewals invoice that we send to you.
If the domain name has been suspended, the suspension will be lifted after we receive a renewal request from you or a payment from the registrant. The domain name and name servers will be added to the next zone file update.
What happens if the registrar associated with a domain name is changed during the renewal period?
There are a number of possible scenarios. In each example we assume that the registrar associated with the domain name is changed from registrar A to registrar B via the registrar systems:
When the registrar is changed from A to B, registrar B will receive notification of the transfer and confirmation of the registration status of the domain name. In this instance the status will be: Registered until expiry date. (See Registration status section for further details.)
Registrar B can then decide whether they wish to submit a renewal request or set the auto-bill field. Alternatively, registrar B may do nothing in which case we will issue a renewal reminder on expiry to the registrant, and a pro forma invoice if the domain name has still not been renewed seven days later.
When the registrar is changed from A to B, registrar B will receive notification of the transfer and confirmation of the registration status of the domain name. In this instance the status will be: Renewal required. (See Registration status section for further details.)
As the domain name was not renewed and has now passed its expiry date, the registrant will have already been issued with a renewal reminder email and a pro forma invoice if it is later than seven days after expiry. If registrar B wants to take on the renewal fee on behalf of their new customer they can submit a renewal request. The fee will then be added to the next renewals invoice issued to the registrar. Before doing this, registrar B should check that their customer has not paid us directly for the renewal as they cannot withdraw any renewal request they submit. If the registrant has paid directly the registration status displayed on the WHOIS will have changed to: Registered until expiry date.
When the registrar is changed from A to B, registrar B will receive notification of the registrar transfer and confirmation of the registration status of the domain name. In this instance the status will be: Registered until expiry date. (See Registration status section for further details.) No further action is required.
When the registrar is changed from A to B, registrar B will receive notification of the registrar transfer and confirmation of the registration status of the domain name. In this instance the status will be: Registered until expiry date. (See Registration status section for further details.) No further action is required.
When the registrar is changed from A to B, registrar B will receive notification of the registrar transfer and confirmation of the registration status of the domain name. In this instance the status will be: Renewal request being processed. (See Registration status section for further details.) Registrar B can submit a renewal request if they wish to ensure their customer does not receive an invoice, however, this will not cancel the invoice to registrar A. In this scenario both registrars will be liable for a renewal fee.
If registrar B does not send a renewal request and registrar A pays the renewal fee within the 30 day payment terms, no further action is required. However, if registrar A does not make payment, the registration status will change to "Renewal required" (note the expiry date can be a negative date). As soon as the payment terms have passed, the domain name will immediately be suspended. Registrar B will then need to decide whether they want to submit a renewal request on behalf of their customer.
Renewal outstanding, registrar transfer completed before expiry
When the registrar is changed from A to B, registrar B will receive notification of the registrar transfer and confirmation of the registration status of the domain name. In this instance the status will be: Registered until expiry date. (See Registration status section for further details.)
If registrar B does not submit a renewal request, the next steps will depend upon how long before expiry registrar A submitted their renewal request. If registrar A does not pay the renewal fee within the 30 day payment terms at expiry, or when the 30 day payment period ends, a pro forma invoice will be issued to the registrant unless registrar B submits a renewal request. We will continue to pursue registrar A for the outstanding fee, but this will not delay the processing of the renewal of the domain name.
Renewal submitted, registrar transfer completed after expiry
See answer to scenario 5 above.
How does the recur-bill field work?
The recur-bill field allows registrars to indicate that the registrant should be billed for the renewal. In order for it to work domain names must be identified as 'bc' (bill customer) before the expiry date. Once you have identified a domain name as 'bc', the domain name will be treated like a direct renewal and an 'Advance warning of renewal' notice will be emailed to the registrant 60 days prior to expiry. If a domain name is marked as 'bc' less than 60 days prior to the expiry date, an 'Advance warning of renewal' notice will be emailed to the registrant immediately.
If the recur-bill field is set to 'bc', you will not be able to submit a renewal request until you have changed the recur-bill field to 'th'. If you have submitted a renewal request for a domain name, you can still set the recur-bill field to 'bc'. However, as with all renewal requests, the renewal cannot be cancelled and we will not issue a credit note.
Will Nominet make direct contact with my customers during the renewal process?
We will only contact your customers directly in the following circumstances:
Registration request being processed
This would only be used after first registration but before payment has been received.
Registered until expiry date
This status will be displayed if:
Renewal request being processed
This status will be displayed once we have received a renewal request and until the renewal invoice is paid or goes beyond credit terms.
Renewal required
This status will be used if:
In both instances the expiry date will be in the past.