Registrar guide

Renewing and locking a domain at GoDaddy.

Where each setting lives at GoDaddy, and the three changes that actually stop a domain lapsing.

Where the settings are

Everything below is in My Products, then Domains.

Renewing

  • Sign in and open My Products.
  • Expand Domains and find the one you need.
  • Press Renew, or open the domain settings for auto-renew.

Turning on transfer lock

Under the domain's settings, look for Domain Lock. Switch it on and confirm the status shows as locked afterwards.

Moving the notices somewhere safe

Renewal notices go to the account email under Account Settings. GoDaddy also sends to the registrant contact, so update both.

Worth knowing about GoDaddy

GoDaddy's grace period after expiry is shorter than several other registrars, and recovery fees apply sooner. If a GoDaddy domain has lapsed, treat it as same-day rather than same-week.

The three that actually prevent a lapse

  • A payment card that is current. An expired card with auto-renew on is the most common cause of a lapse, and the failure notice goes to the same place as everything else.
  • A contact address that survives someone leaving. Not a personal address, and not an address at the domain that is expiring.
  • The renewal date recorded somewhere other than the registrar's email, because that is the channel that failed.

Related

Check yours

Not sure who holds your domain?.

The free check reports the registrar, the renewal date and whether the transfer lock is on.

A different registrar?

The menus and defaults differ enough to be worth their own page.

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