Your website is offline and your email is bouncing. You look up your domain name and see a single word: quarantine. It is a fright, but the good news is that quarantine exists to protect you. Your domain name is not gone yet, and in most cases you can simply get it back.
In this article we explain what quarantine actually is, how long it lasts per extension, what it costs to recover your domain, and how to make sure it does not happen again.
What is quarantine?
Quarantine is the period after a domain name has been cancelled or not renewed in time, during which the name no longer works technically but is not available to anyone else either. Think of it as a legally mandated cooling-off period for your domain name.
During that period:
- Your website and email are down. The domain is technically switched off: visitors get an error and incoming mail is rejected.
- Nobody else can register the name. The registry holds on to it, exclusively for you.
- Only you, the previous holder, can recover it. Anyone else who wants the same name has to wait until quarantine ends.
That last rule is the whole point of quarantine: it protects you from the consequences of a forgotten invoice, an expired credit card, or one wrong click.
How does a domain name end up in quarantine?
Almost never through a deliberate choice. Usually it is something small:
- The renewal was not paid. An expired credit card, an invoice in the spam folder, or a direct debit that failed.
- The domain was cancelled by accident, for example while cleaning up an old hosting package the domain was still attached to.
- The reminders never arrived. This is the nastiest one: if your registrar has a contact address on that same domain, or a mailbox nobody reads any more, you miss exactly the emails you needed to see.
- A transfer stalled halfway, leaving nobody feeling responsible for the renewal.
How long does quarantine last?
That depends on the extension, and it matters which clock is running for you:
- .nl: 40 days. SIDN holds the name for exactly forty days. The whois shows both the date and the time at which the domain is released.
- .be and .eu: also 40 days. After that the name is free for anyone to register again.
- .com, .net, .org and other gTLDs: 30 days. Here it is not called quarantine but the Redemption Grace Period. That is followed by 5 days of Pending Delete, during which nothing can be done at all, and then the name drops.
With gTLDs there is usually one more phase before the redemption period: the auto-renew grace period. During that phase your registrar can still restore the domain at the normal renewal price, without an expensive restore fee. It runs for up to 45 days and varies per registrar. Your site is often already down by then, so do not let that lull you: the sooner you act, the cheaper it is.
How to get your domain name out of quarantine
- Check the status first. Look your domain up in the whois to see which status it has and, for .nl, exactly when quarantine ends. Then you know how much time you have.
- Contact a registrar. For .nl it does not have to be your old provider: any SIDN registrar can submit the request for you.
- Prove you are the previous holder. The registrar files the request with the registry, which checks that your details match those of the previous holder.
- Pay the costs. Lifting quarantine is not free. For .nl the rates usually sit somewhere between €20 and €100 excluding VAT, depending on the registrar. For gTLDs the registry charges a restore fee that is often around 80 to 150 dollars, on top of the renewal.
- Restore your DNS. Once the domain is active again, the DNS records need to be correct before your website and mail start working.
Is your domain name with Etheron? Then you do not have to work this out yourself. Open a ticket with our support team and tell us which domain it concerns. We file the request with the registry, tell you upfront what it costs, and put your DNS records back in place right away so your site and mail are back as quickly as possible.
Do not wait until the last moment. The procedure takes time, and once quarantine has ended there is no way back.
And once quarantine is over?
Then your domain name is simply free. Anyone may register it, and for a name with any value at all that happens within seconds. Usually not by a passer-by, but by automated services that buy up expiring domains in order to sell them back to you. We wrote a separate article about that.
If you hold a registered trademark matching the domain name, a dispute procedure is still an option. But that is a long and expensive road you would rather not go down.
How to avoid quarantine
- Turn on automatic renewal, and then check that it is genuinely active.
- Keep your payment details current. An expired credit card is by far the most common cause.
- Never use an email address on the same domain as your registrar contact address. Precisely when the domain is down, those warnings stop arriving.
- Use a shared mailbox rather than one employee's personal address. People move on, domains stay.
- Put the expiry date in the calendar, with a reminder a month in advance.
- Keep your domains together. Spread across four providers, one always slips out of sight.
Frequently asked questions
Can somebody else register my domain during quarantine?
No. During quarantine the name is reserved for you as the previous holder. Only when that period ends does it become available to everyone.
Does my email still work during quarantine?
No. The domain is switched off technically, so incoming mail is rejected. Those messages are gone for good: they are not delivered after the fact once you recover the domain. For many businesses this is the most painful part.
What does it cost to get a domain out of quarantine?
That depends on the extension and the registrar. For .nl the rates are usually between €20 and €100 excluding VAT. For gTLDs such as .com, the registry adds a restore fee that is often around 80 to 150 dollars. Always ask in advance so you are not caught out.
Can I transfer my domain while it is in quarantine?
Not in the usual sense, but you are not tied to your old provider. Any registrar for that extension can file the request to lift quarantine on your behalf.
How long until my site works again?
Once the domain is active again, it is mostly a matter of setting the DNS records correctly. After that, allow up to a day for the change to propagate everywhere.
In short
Quarantine is not a disaster, but it is a hard deadline. While that period runs, your domain name is still yours and you can get it back, for a fee and with some paperwork. After that it belongs to whoever registers it first, and that is rarely a coincidence.
Would you like your domain names in one place, with automatic renewal and reminders that actually arrive? Have a look at our domain name page, or ask your question through our Discord or a ticket. We are happy to help!