Domain expiration date check
The check looks up the number of days left before the domain expires.
This check is run once a day looking up and calculating the number of days until the domain expires using publicly available information in WHOIS databases around the Internet. The check serve as a reminder to locate the invoice and pay the domain renewal fee.
Failing payment for a domain will eventually result in that the domain is removed from the TLD servers and from that point on your domain will gradually disappear from the Internet until it is completely unreachable! Once a domain is reinstated it will still take quite a while before the domain is thoroughly propagated across the Internet.
Worst case unless you pay attention, you might even end up losing your domain and quite possibly have to pay serious money to buy it back from the new owner.
Today many registrars offer automated renewal (usually for a fee) which is a good way to keep possession of your domain.
Event severities and messages
WARNING
{domain name} expire in 8-30 days!
The domain in the message will expire in the number of days in the message.
Time to start looking for the invoice...
ERROR
{domain name} expire in 1-7 days!
The domain in the message will expire in the number of days in the message.
Time to really start looking for the invoice! If the invoice is paid you can disregard this message. Some registries are notoriously late updating the WHOIS database.
CRITICAL
{domain name} expire in 1 day or is already expired!
The domain is about to expire shortly or is already expired according to the WHOIS database.
If the invoice is paid you can disregard this message. Some registries are notoriously late updating the WHOIS database.
UNKNOWN
Check was unable to contact server to retrieve whois information.
The check was unable to establish a connection to the whois server. This could be a temporary problem but if this message appear for consecutive days please report this to the DNSmonitor support team.
Any other UNKNOWN messages
Plenty of things can go wrong as this check tries to retrieve the desired information. If you come across any UNKNOWN messages pleas report this to the DNSmonitor support team and we will investigate and usually fix the problem.
Solutions, tips & tricks
Make sure you know at which registrar or registrars your domain/domains are registered.
Make sure you have a valid account at each registrar you use.
Make sure your contact information is up to date so that the registrar is able to come in contact with you.
Activate automatic renewal service for each domain if your registrar is supporting that feature.
Activate MFA if offered by the registrar.
Activate features like Registry lock and other features that require additional approval on domain transfers and changes to name server records.