Domain Renewals
We regularly receive all kinds of queries relating to the renewal of domain registrations, so here are a few hints and pointers on the process of renewing your domain.
General
We issue invoices for domain renewals by email 45 days prior to the domain’s due date - The renewal can be paid at any time between the invoice being issued and the due date.
Your invoice will contain a payment button if WorldPay or PayPal are your chosen payment method, or payment details for bank transfer/cheque payments. All invoices also contain a manual payment link which can be used to submit a card payment. Alternatively, you can view and pay any outstanding invoices at any time through your billing account at:
.uk domains
UK domains are always registered and renewed for a period of 2 years. You should ensure your renewal is paid by the domain’s due date, Nominet (the .uk domain registry) do allow a grace period following a domain’s expiry however if you do not renew your domain by it’s expiry date you will be contacted directly by Nominet letting you know the domain has expired and advising you to contact us.
.com/net/org/biz/info domains
International domains can be registered/renewed for 1, 2, 4, 5 or 10 years, with discounts for longer registrations. By default your renewal will be raised for the same period the domain was originally registered for (ie a 2 year original registration will result in a 2 year renewal when it is due) however if you would like to renew the domain for a longer or shorter period, simply let us know and we’ll re-issue the renewal.
The registry for the above domains does not provide a grace period following a domain’s expiry - This means if you do not renew the domain by it’s renewal date the domain will be suspended immediately and no longer work until the domain is renewed.
The domain can still be renewed at it’s normal cost for approximately a month following expiry. After this month however, the domain will enter a redemption state for roughly a further 2 months, and renewing the domain once this has happened will involve a very high fee paid to the registry (this is not charged by us!) of roughly £170 plus VAT as well as it’s normal renewal cost, so please do not let a domain go unrenewed if you do wish to keep it!
Avoiding scams
Several businesses, most notably the “Domain Registry of America” and “Domain Renewal Group” operate speculative invoicing where they will use publicly available whois details for .com/net/org/biz/info domain registrations to send the domain’s owner an invoice a few months before the domain’s expiry date. While the invoice will state in its’ small print that you would be paying for a (very expensive) transfer of the domain to a new registering agent and then renewing the domain, these invoices are designed to look like a renewal invoice that must be paid in order to keep your domain.
Any domain registered with us will be invoiced for renewal by us 45 days prior to expiry by email and will be clearly labelled as an invoice from Blackfoot Hosting Limited - Any invoice sent to you for domains held with us from anyone else should be ignored.
For the security of your domains all .com/net/org/biz/info domains registered through us are locked to prevent transfers by default so these cannot be accidentally transferred to a third party, the domain must be explicitly unlocked for transfer by you via your billing account in order to authorise any transfer. You should however always be careful with paying renewal invoices, as paying anyone other than ourselves for domains held with us will not actually renew your domain and you may struggle to claim a refund!
If you are ever unsure about the validity of any renewal invoice you have received for a service held through us, please simply contact us via our helpdesk.