// 20 terms
domain glossary.
The vocabulary of domain ownership, written the way someone would explain it to you rather than the way a registry document defines it. Most of these terms only matter because getting them wrong is expensive.
the 60-day transfer lock, explained
The 60-day transfer lock is an ICANN rule that prevents a gTLD domain from being transferred to another registrar within 60 days of its initial registration or of a previous transfer.
what is an auth code (EPP code)?
An auth code — also called an EPP code, authInfo code or transfer authorisation code — is the per-domain secret issued by your current registrar that proves you control the domain and authorises its transfer to another one.
what is DNSSEC?
DNSSEC is a set of DNS extensions that cryptographically sign a domain's records so that resolvers can verify the answers they receive are genuine and have not been tampered with in transit.
what is a domain backorder?
A domain backorder is a paid standing request with a drop-catching service to attempt to register a domain the moment it is released, with no guarantee that the attempt succeeds.
the domain deletion lifecycle, stage by stage
The domain deletion lifecycle is the sequence an unrenewed domain passes through — active, expiring, grace, redemption, pending delete, then available — with each stage carrying different costs and a different set of options for the owner.
domain grace period, explained
A domain grace period is the window after a domain's expiry date in which the registrant can still renew it at the ordinary price — commonly around 30 days for gTLDs, but set at the registrar's discretion rather than guaranteed.
what is domain renewal arbitrage?
Domain renewal arbitrage is the practice of holding each domain at whichever registrar renews it most cheaply, and moving it when the annual price gap, multiplied by the years you intend to hold it, outweighs the friction of transferring.
what is domain slamming?
Domain slamming is the practice of sending a domain owner an official-looking renewal invoice that is, in the small print, an authorisation to transfer the domain to the sender's registrar at a much higher price.
domain total cost of ownership, explained
Domain total cost of ownership is what a domain actually costs across the years you hold it — the first-year price plus every renewal, privacy, transfer and recovery fee — which is almost never the number advertised at checkout.
what is drop catching?
Drop catching is the practice of registering a domain in the instant a registry releases it at the end of pending delete, using many registrar accreditations and automated requests to win the name ahead of everyone else.
EPP status codes, explained
EPP status codes are the standard flags a registry publishes against a domain — clientTransferProhibited, autoRenewPeriod, redemptionPeriod, pendingDelete and others — that state precisely what can and cannot be done with it right now.
pending delete, explained
Pending delete is the final stage of an expired gTLD's life — a roughly five-day window in which the domain cannot be renewed, restored or transferred by anyone, after which the registry releases it for general registration.
what is RDAP? (and why it replaced WHOIS)
RDAP (Registration Data Access Protocol) is the standardised JSON-over-HTTPS successor to WHOIS, and the authoritative way to read a domain's expiry date, status codes, nameservers and registrar straight from its registry.
what is the redemption period?
The redemption period is a roughly 30-day stage after the grace period in which an expired domain can only be restored by its original registrant, and only by paying a restore fee several times the normal renewal price.
what is a registrar lock?
A registrar lock is the clientTransferProhibited status your registrar sets on a domain to block any transfer to another registrar until you deliberately switch it off.
registry vs registrar: what is the difference?
A registry operates a top-level domain and holds the authoritative record for every domain under it, while a registrar is an accredited reseller that sells you the registration, manages it and sets the retail price you pay.
teaser pricing, explained
Teaser pricing is the registrar practice of selling a domain's first year far below its renewal price — frequently below cost — to win the customer, then recovering the margin on every renewal that follows.
what is a TLD (top-level domain)?
A TLD, or top-level domain, is the final label in a domain name — .com, .co.uk, .io, .ai — and it determines which registry runs the name, what it costs to renew and which lifecycle rules it follows.
what is WHOIS?
WHOIS is the original plain-text protocol for looking up who registered a domain and when it expires — still widely referenced, now largely redacted, and formally superseded for gTLDs by RDAP.
what is WHOIS privacy?
WHOIS privacy is a registrar service that replaces your name, address, telephone number and email in a domain's public registration record with the contact details of a proxy service.