The 'positive renewals' system requires registrars to notify Nominet only of the domain names that they do wish to renew on behalf of their customers and was a shift from a 'negative renewals' system that required them to detag any domain names that they did not want to renew.
The following sections explain the renewals system:
Advance warnings Renewing a domain name After you have submitted a renewal request The 'auto-bill' field The 'next-bill' field If you do not submit a renewal request If you do not wish to renew a domain name Detagged domain names WHOIS Any questions?
Advance warnings
Three months in advance we will email you a warning of domain names on your tag that are due to be renewed. For example, on 1st June 2008 we will send you a list of domain names that are due to expire in September 2008.
You can opt out of receiving these emails by selecting 'unsubscribe' at the bottom of the email. You can also use our Online Service to opt in or opt out, or amend your email address. Alternatively, if you prefer, you can submit a list request by expiry month to the Automaton to return a list of domain names due to expire in your chosen month.
Renewing a domain name
Renewing a domain name extends the expiry date by two years. You can renew a domain name on your tag on behalf of the registrant up to six months before the expiry date. During this renewal period you should submit a renewal request through our registrar systems. When we receive a renewal request the expiry date will be wound forward two years.
We will not normally contact registrants prior to the expiry date except where the domain name is not associated with a valid tag or where the 'recur-bill' field is set to "bc" (bill customer). In these cases we will issue a 'notice of renewal' advance warning to the registrant by email, between 60 and 30 days before the expiry date. If you mark a domain name as 'bc' less than 60 days before the expiry date, we will immediately issue a 'notice of renewal' advance warning to the registrant.
After you have submitted a renewal request Once we have received a renewal request from you, you will not be able to cancel the renewal. We will not issue credit notes for renewal invoices. If you (as current registrar) perform the renewal, we will invoice you for the renewal fees, even if you subsequently change the tag on the domain name. If an invoice for a renewal remains unpaid beyond our credit terms of 30 days from the date of the invoice, we will wind the expiry date back two years and we will not issue a credit note. If, as a consequence, the domain name has expired, we will send out a pro forma invoice and a suspension notice via post and email to the registrant.
The 'auto-bill' field
You can use this field to indicate how many days before expiry you wish to automatically renew a domain name. You do this by setting the 'auto-bill' field in the register to a value between 1 and 182. This will indicate the number of days (up to six months) prior to expiry that you wish to renew the domain name. If you set a value in the 'auto-bill' field, we will raise an invoice in the usual manner when the relevant time arrives. You will not be able to cancel the renewal and we will not issue a credit note.
You cannot set the 'auto-bill' field retrospectively, so the value you add to this field must always be in the future. You also need to add the value to the 'auto-bill' field at least one clear day in advance of the day you intend to make the renewal. For example, if you want to renew a domain name 10 days before it expires, you should set the value in the 'auto-bill' field to 10. You need to do this by midnight on day 12 before the domain expires. This means that, if a domain name is due to expire on the 24th and you want to automatically renew it on the 14th, you need to set the 'auto-bill' field to 10 at the latest by midnight on the 12th. If you do not have enough time to add a value to the 'auto-bill' field before the domain name expires, you should submit a renewal request.
If you would like to cancel an 'auto-bill' request, you should set the field value to zero at least one clear day in advance of the day on which you intended to make the renewal.
When you register a domain name, if you do not add a value to the 'auto-bill' field, the field value will always default to zero. If there is a value in the 'auto-bill' field and the domain is later transferred to a new registrar, the field value will default to zero when the domain name is transferred.
The 'next-bill' field
You can also use the 'next-bill' field to indicate how many days before expiry you wish to automatically renew a domain name. You do this by setting the 'next-bill' field in the register to a value between 1 and 182. This will indicate the number of days (up to six months) before expiry that you wish to renew the domain name.
The 'next-bill' field is set for a single registration period only. If you set a value in the 'next-bill' field, we will raise an invoice in the usual manner when the relevant time arrives. You will not be able to cancel the renewal and we will not issue a credit note. We will then reset the 'next-bill' field to zero.
You should add a value to the 'next-bill' field at least one clear day in advace of the day on which you intend to make the renewal. For example, if you want to renew a domain name 10 days before it expires, you should set the value in the 'next-bill' field to 10. You need to do this by midnight on day 12 before the domain name expires. This means that, if a domain name is due to expire on the 24th and you want to automatically renew it on the 14th, you need to set the 'next-bill' field to 10 at the latest by midnight on the 12th. If you do not have enough time to add a value to the 'next-bill' field before the domain name expires, you should submit a renewal request.
If you would like to cancel a 'next-bill' request, you should set the field value to zero at least one clear day in advance of the day on which you intended to make the renewal.
Note: You can only add a value to either the 'auto-bill' or the 'next-bill' field. You cannot add a value to both.
If you do not submit a renewal request If you have not submitted a renewal request when the expiry date for a domain name is reached, we will send out an email renewal reminder to the registrant. This reminds the registrant that the domain name is due for renewal and advises them to contact their registrar. Seven days later, if you still have not submitted a renewal request, we will send a pro forma invoice to the registrant by post and email. We post the pro forma invoice to the address detailed in the 'registrant contact' field or, if this is incomplete, to the address in the 'admin contact' field. We send email notices to all email addresses provided.
In the pro forma invoice we will advise the registrant that they are likely to receive a preferential rate if they renew through their registrar. Additionally we will supply your contact details and our direct renewal URL. We will also warn the registrant that you may have renewed the domain name while the notice was in transit.
If the registrant decides to renew their domain name directly, they can do so via a web interface, at the non-discounted rate. We do not normally refund payments made directly by registrants. After 30 days from the date of the pro forma invoice, if we do not receive a renewal request from you or payment from the registrant, we will suspend the domain name. 'Suspended' means that the DNS servers will not be entered into the .UK zone file, however they will be maintained in the Nominet register. If you then submit a renewal request or the registrant pays the oustanding fee, they will be reinstated at the next zone rebuild. The status of the domain name will be clear from a WHOIS query (see below).
The suspension of a domain name will not affect your ability to execute all the normal operations including submitting a renewal request or moving the domain name to an alternative registrar. However, if we are asked to make a change to a domain name, we will not transfer or move it to another registrar until any outstanding registration or renewal fees have been paid. If payment is made whilst the domain name is suspended, the suspension will be lifted. We will move the expiry date forward two years from the previous expiry date. Late renewal will not advance the next expiry date. In the absence of a renewal, we will cancel the domain name 60 days after suspension. We will notify you after the cancellation but we will not notify the registrant.
If you do not wish to renew a domain name If you do not wish to renew a domain name, you should take no action to renew it.
We will not send you an invoice for the domain name renewal fees, therefore you do not need to detag the domain name to prevent its renewal. Domain names that have not been renewed will lapse naturally. However you can still use the detag facility to indicate a permanent cessation of your contractual relationship with the registrant in respect of a domain name. If you decide not to submit a renewal request as described in the process above, we will still give the registrant the opportunity to renew directly. At any time up to cancellation of the domain name, you can submit a renewal request. Therefore, if a customer receives a direct invoice and contacts you to confirm that they wish to renew, you can submit a renewal request for the relevant domain name.
Detagged domain names If a domain name is detagged and has not been renewed, we will send a pro forma invoice directly to the registrant. You will not be able to submit a renewal request. We will only accept the registrant's authority to retag the domain name, with no exceptions. All retags will be treated as a registrar transfers and we will levy a charge to the registrant for making a transfer in our normal manner. The new registrar will be able to submit a renewal request for the domain name after it has been retagged to them or the registrant can pay our pro forma invoice. Therefore you should be particularly careful not to detag a domain name that you feel your customer may not wish to renew. Instead you should not renew the domain name until your customer has contacted you.
WHOIS
You can see the expiry date and registration status for a domain name displayed on the WHOIS service. There are four different registration statuses.
Registration request being processed This status is only used after first registration but before payment has been received.
Registered until expiry date This status is displayed if:
- The domain name has not reached its expiry date and a renewal request has not been received.
- The renewal fee has been paid and the expiry date will move forward two years.
Renewal request being processed
This status will be displayed once a renewal request has been received and until the renewal invoice is paid or goes beyond credit terms.
Renewal required This status will be used if:
- The domain name has passed its expiry date but no renewal request has been received and therefore a pro forma invoice has been issued to the registrant, or
- A renewal request has been received but the domain name has passed its expiry date and the invoice is beyond its credit terms.
In both instances the expiry date will be in the past.
Any questions If you have any queries about the renewals procedure, please send your enquiry to support@nominet.org.uk with the subject line 'renewals'.