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I am registering a domain name for my website, and am concerned by the possibility that, if I register it for a short time period, someone else could buy the domain name for a future period.

Is it possible for people to buy domain names for future periods? Or is this impossible?

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  • It depends on the TLD so it is impossible to reply to you. In pl for example, you can put yourself in a "waiting-list" for a domain currently existing to get it after it expires, at the registry level: dns.pl/en/options – Patrick Mevzek May 3 '20 at 16:17
  • @PatrickMevzek Even in the case of a waiting list, nobody would be able to take your domain from you unless you let it expire. As long as you renew the registration before the expiration, you get to keep it as long as you want. – Stephen Ostermiller♦ Jun 3 '20 at 13:38
  • @StephenOstermiller It does however exactly reply to the part of the question which has "somebody will pre-register my domain for after it expires and take it for me". A waiting list like pl does it exactly this: you preregister your desire to get a domain name that currently exists to grab it once it failed to have been renewed by current owner. – Patrick Mevzek Jun 3 '20 at 14:15
  • It is the same for the various registrars managed "drop list". For a domain existing, "anyone" can register itself on a waiting list to get the domain once it is dropped (and if that specific registrar is successful in grabbing it after expiration and deletion) – Patrick Mevzek Jun 3 '20 at 14:53
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Once a domain expires, depending on the TLD*, it becomes available for another party to register. Unless you have some sort of IP claim on the domain name you can't stop someone else grabbing it.

.* The "depending on" applies to some extensions e.g. .com, where there is a 30 day grace period where the domain is inactive but you can renew it. Then there is a 30 day redemption period where you can renew it, but for a hefty fee. It then becomes available for registration at a random time.

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    I think it would be worth adding that if you continue to renew the domain name and never actually let it expire, then nobody else can register it. If you register a domain for one year, you have that full year to renew the registration before anybody else gets a chance at it. – Stephen Ostermiller♦ May 1 '20 at 13:33
  • It is not really exactly when the domain expires. If we take still .COM there is a 45 days auto-renew period. Also the domain can stay active during all that time, this all depends on the registrar renewal policies (ICANN policy mandates only a 8 days cut: icann.org/resources/pages/errp-2013-02-28-en). The registrar is free to delete the name at any moment during that period. Then there is the typical 30 days Redemption Grace Period, and then the 5 Days Pending Delete. See archive.icann.org/en/registrars/gtld-lifecycle.jpg – Patrick Mevzek May 3 '20 at 16:18
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    Also, please do not say "extension". A domain is in/has a TLD, it doesn't have an "extension". – Patrick Mevzek Jun 3 '20 at 2:49

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