--- id: "grace-period" kind: "glossary-term" title: "grace period" language: "en" category: "Registration life cycle" updated: "2026-10-10T10:28:55Z" canonical: "https://tldlog.com/glossary/grace-period/" translations: es: "https://tldlog.com/es/glosario/periodo-gracia/" de: "https://tldlog.com/de/glossar/grace-period/" fr: "https://tldlog.com/fr/glossaire/periode-grace/" it: "https://tldlog.com/it/glossario/periodo-grazia/" pt-BR: "https://tldlog.com/pt/glossario/periodo-carencia/" ru: "https://tldlog.com/ru/glossariy/lgotnyy-period/" zh-Hans: "https://tldlog.com/zh/cihui/kuanxianqi/" --- # grace period A set number of days after a registry action, such as a new registration, renewal or transfer, during which the action can be undone or changed on special terms. If the registrar deletes the domain in that window, the registry usually credits the registrar with its fee. Lengths differ by registry. A grace period is a short window after a registry operation, such as a new registration, a renewal or a transfer, in which the registrar can undo the operation by deleting the domain. The registry then usually gives the registrar a credit for the fee. Registrants rarely see grace periods except as a status in a domain lookup, but they shape costs and the rules against abuse. ## What a grace period is ICANN defines a grace period as a set number of calendar days after a gTLD registry operation in which the operation may be reversed and a credit may be issued to a registrar. Three parties are involved: - The registry runs the clock and issues the credit. - The registrar decides whether to delete the name within the window. - The registrant sees only an EPP status code in a lookup: addPeriod, renewPeriod, autoRenewPeriod or transferPeriod. ICANN calls them informative statuses; for addPeriod it adds that there is no issue with the domain name. The credit goes from the registry to the registrar. Whether a customer gets any money back depends on the registrar's own terms. ## The four registry grace periods and their lengths RFC 3915, published in September 2004, describes four grace periods tied to EPP operations, based on an ICANN task force report of March 2003: - Add grace period: after a new registration. - Renew grace period: after the registrar explicitly renews a name. - Auto-renew grace period: after the registration period expires and the registry renews the name automatically. - Transfer grace period: after the name moves to a new registrar. The RFC leaves their length to each registry. The classic values come from Appendix 7 of the .com registry agreement, dated 1 December 2012: 5, 5, 45 and 5 calendar days respectively (as of October 2026). The 2013 .org text uses the same values. The base registry agreement for new gTLDs, approved on 12 March 2026, sets no lengths. ICANN describes the add grace period as typically five days, and not every gTLD agreement has one. The transfer grace period is not a transfer lock. As of October 2026, the rules that let a registrar deny a transfer within 60 days of creation or of a previous transfer come from ICANN's Transfer Policy. On 7 June 2026 the ICANN Board adopted changes that, among other things, turn optional security locks into mandatory ones; as of October 2026 they are not yet in force. ## Credits and who gets them In .com, what happens on deletion depends on the window: - Add grace period: the registrar is credited for the registration, and the name is free for anyone to register at once. It skips the Redemption Grace Period (RGP). - Renew, auto-renew or transfer grace period: the registrar is credited the renewal or transfer fee, and the name goes straight into the 30-day RGP. The add grace period credit is capped. Under ICANN's AGP Limits Policy, a consensus policy in force since 1 April 2009 (as of October 2026), a registrar is credited each month, per TLD, only for deletes up to 10% of its net new registrations or 50 names, whichever is greater. It can ask the registry for an exemption in a given month by documenting extraordinary circumstances; circumstances that recur regularly do not qualify. Registry agreements may also let a registry charge its own fee for excess deletes. A worked example, with the policy's own illustrative price of US$6 (not a current price): in one month a registrar has 1,000 net new registrations in a TLD and deletes 250 names, such as example.com, within the add grace period. Its threshold is 100. It is credited US$600 for 100 deletes and nothing for the other 150, which would have been US$900. ## Abuse of grace periods: tasting and kiting The add grace period exists so that typos and some fraudulent registrations can be cancelled at no cost. Before 2009 it was widely used for domain tasting: registering names in bulk, testing whether their traffic or advertising covered the fee, and deleting the rest for free. Domain kiting is a repeated form: deleting and re-registering the same name over and over to avoid paying. How the limits came about: 1. 2007: at the ALAC's request, the GNSO Council launched a PDP on 31 October. 2. 17 April 2008: the GNSO Council approved the recommendation by supermajority. 3. 26 June 2008: the ICANN Board adopted it. 4. 1 July 2008 to 30 June 2009: ICANN's budget charged registrars US$0.20 for each delete above the threshold. 5. 1 April 2009: the policy took effect, so each excess delete cost the full registration fee. Add grace period deletes in the TLDs ICANN reported fell from 17,668,750 in June 2008 to 58,218 in April 2009, a 99.7% drop. ## Grace periods versus the redemption period RFC 3915 and the .com agreement also list the RGP, but it works differently. The four grace periods follow a registration, renewal or transfer and allow a credited deletion. The RGP follows a deletion: as of October 2026, for 30 days in every gTLD except sponsored ones, the registrar that deleted the name can restore it at the former registrant's request. Lookups show it as redemptionPeriod. One acronym trap: in the AGP Limits Policy, AGP means add grace period, but ICANN's glossary also uses AGP for the auto-renew grace period. For a specific domain, the registrar or the registry can confirm which rules apply. ## Sources - [AGP (Add Grace Period) Limits Policy](https://www.icann.org/en/contracted-parties/consensus-policies/add-grace-period-limits-policy/agp-add-grace-period-limits-policy-17-12-2008-en) - [RFC 3915: Domain Registry Grace Period Mapping for the Extensible Provisioning Protocol (EPP)](https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc3915.txt) - [.com Registry Agreement Appendix 7](https://www.icann.org/en/registry-agreements/com/com-registry-agreement-appendix-7-1-12-2012-en) - [The End of Domain Tasting: Status Report on AGP Measures](https://itp.cdn.icann.org/en/files/consensus-policy/agp-status-report-12aug09-en.pdf) ## related terms - [add grace period](https://tldlog.com/glossary/add-grace-period/) - [auto-renew grace period](https://tldlog.com/glossary/auto-renew-grace-period/) - [renew grace period](https://tldlog.com/glossary/renew-grace-period/) - [transfer grace period](https://tldlog.com/glossary/transfer-grace-period/) - [RGP](https://tldlog.com/glossary/redemption-grace-period/)