What does "Status: serverRenewProhibited" mean in domain WHOIS data?

Question

In reviewing a client's domain WHOIS record recently, I came across this status entry:

Status: serverRenewProhibited

What's the meaning of this status?

Answer 1

The official international meaning of this status is mentioned on this ICANN page:

serverRenewProhibited

This status code indicates your domain's Registry Operator will not allow your registrar to renew your domain. It is an uncommon status that is usually enacted during legal disputes or when your domain is subject to deletion.

Often, this status indicates an issue with your domain that needs to be addressed promptly. You should contact your registrar to request more information and resolve the issue. If your domain does not have any issues, and you simply want to renew it, you must first contact your registrar and request that they work with the Registry Operator to remove this status code. This process can take longer than it does for clientRenewProhibited because your registrar has to forward your request to your domain's registry and wait for them to lift the restriction.

This had me worried that the domain was expired or involved in some legal dispute, but then I found this:

Why is the status showing as serverRenewProhibited for my domain name?

This status indicates that the domain name has an expiry date that is more than 90 days away and therefore you cannot renew it at this time. When the domain name enters the 90 day renewal period this status will be removed.

It seems that in some duristictions (especially .AU domain space) that there are two different statuses:

Status: serverRenewProhibited
Status: serverRenewProhibited (Expired)

The first one is quite normal, and simply means that your domain name is valid - it just cannot be renewed yet until 90 days prior to expiry.

If you're seeing the second status code you probably have more to worry about and need to follow the ICANN instructions mentioned above.