Domain expiration date check
Prerequisites:
TLD must be supported.
Package:
Availability.
Executed on:
Authoritative WHOIS server
Check interval:
Every 24 hours.
Impact on Availability:
None. Unless expired, then High.
Impact on Integrity:
None.
Purpose
The check looks up the number of days left before the domain expires.
This check is run once a day and uses publicly available information in WHOIS databases on the Internet to look up and calculate the number of days until the domain expires. The check acts as a reminder to find the invoice and pay the domain renewal fee.
Failure to pay for a domain will eventually result in the domain being 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 some time for the domain to be thoroughly propagated throughout the Internet.
In the worst case, if you are not careful, you may even lose your domain and have to pay a lot of money to buy it back from the new owner.
Today, many registrars offer automatic renewal, which is a good way to keep your domain.
Event severities and messages
INFO
The domain expires in more than 30 days.
WARNING
The domain expire in 8-30 days!
The domain will expire in the number of days specified in the message. If you don’t have the domain on automatic renewal, it’s time to look for the invoice!
ERROR
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 or if the domain is on automatic renewal you can disregard this message. Note that 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 please report this to the DNSmonitor support team and we will investigate and usually fix the problem.
Solutions, tips & tricks
Make sure you know which registrar(s) your domain(s) are registered with.
Make sure you have a valid account with each registrar you use.
Make sure your contact details are up to date so that the registrar can get in touch with you.
Enable automatic renewal for each domain, if your registrar supports this feature.
Enable MFA if your registrar offers it.
Enable features such as Registry lock and other features that require additional approval for domain transfers and name server record changes.