Proposed Unsponsored TLD Agreement: Appendix C, Part 5 (.name)

Proposed Unsponsored TLD Agreement: Appendix C, Part 5 (.name) (2 July 2001)

Part 5 - Grace and Pending Period Policy

A Grace Period refers to a specified number of hours following a Registry operation in which the domain may be deleted and a credit may be issued to a registrar. Relevant registry operations in this context are:

Registration of a new domain
Extension of an existing domain
Transfer of an existing domain
Deletion of an existing domain

Extension of a registration period is accomplished using the EPP Renew command; registration is accomplished using the EPP Create command; deletion is accomplished using the EPP Delete command; and transfer is accomplished using the EPP Transfer command or where ICANN approves a bulk transfer under Part B of Exhibit D to the Registry-Registrar Agreement (Appendix F), using the method described in the first paragraph of Part 6 (Object Transfers) of this Appendix.

There are three grace periods in the Registry Operator Shared Registration System:

1. Add Grace Period
2. Renew/Extend Grace Period
3. Transfer Grace Period

The .name Registry Operator does not support an Auto-Renew Grace Period. Upon the expiration of the term of a domain name registration or SLD E-mail address registration, the registration is cancelled unless its term has been explicitly extended by the sponsoring registrar.

A Pending Period refers to a specified number of hours following a Registry operation in which final Registry action is deferred before the operation may be completed. Relevant Registry operations in this context are:

Transfer of an existing domain
Deletion of an existing domain
Grace Periods

Add Grace Period

The Add Grace Period is a specified number of hours following the initial registration of a domain. The current value of the Add Grace Period for all registrars is 120 hours. If a Delete, Extend (Renew), or Transfer operation occurs within the 120 hours, the following rules apply:

Delete: If a domain is deleted within the Add Grace Period, the sponsoring registrar at the time of the deletion is credited for the amount of the registration. The domain is deleted from the Registry database and is immediately available for registration by any registrar. See Overlapping Grace Periods for a description of overlapping grace period exceptions. If a domain name is deleted after the 120 hour grace period expires, it will be placed on HOLD for 120 hours and then deleted through the system.

Extend (Renew): If a domain is extended within the Add Grace Period, there is no credit for the Add. The account of the sponsoring Registrar at the time of the extension will be charged for the initial add plus the number of years the registration is extended. The expiration date of the domain is extended by the number of years, up to a total of ten years, as specified by the registrar's requested Extend operation.

Transfer (other than ICANN-approved bulk transfer): Transfers under Part A of Exhibit D to the Registry-Registrar Agreement may not occur during the Add Grace Period or at any other time within the first 60 days after the initial registration. Enforcement is the responsibility of the registrar sponsoring the domain name registration and will be enforced by the SRS.

Bulk Transfer (with ICANN approval): Bulk transfers with ICANN approval may be made during the Add Grace Period according to the procedures in Part B of Exhibit D to the Registry-Registrar Agreement. The expiration dates of transferred registrations are not affected. The losing Registrar's account is charged for the initial add.

Renew/Extend Grace Period

The Renew/Extend Grace Period is a specified number of hours following the renewal/extension of a domain name registration period. The current value of the Renew/Extend Grace Period is 120 hours. If a Delete, Extend, or Transfer occurs within that 120 hours, the following rules apply:

Delete: If a domain is deleted within the Renew/Extend Grace Period, the sponsoring registrar at the time of the deletion receives a credit of the renew/extend fee. The domain is deleted from the Registry database and is immediately available for registration by any registrar. See Overlapping Grace Periods for a description of overlapping grace period exceptions.

Extend (Renew): A domain can be extended within the Renew/Extend Grace Period for up to a total of ten years. The registrar's available credit will be charged for each of the additional number of years the registration is extended.

Transfer (other than ICANN-approved bulk transfer): If a domain is transferred within the Renew/Extend Grace Period, there is no credit. The expiration date of the domain is extended by one year and the years added as a result of the Extend remain on the domain name up to a total of 10 years.

Bulk Transfer (with ICANN approval): Bulk transfers with ICANN approval may be made during the Renew/Extend Grace Period according to the procedures in Part B of Exhibit D to the Registry-Registrar Agreement. The expiration dates of transferred registrations are not affected. The losing Registrar's account is charged for the Renew/Extend operation.

Transfer Grace Period

The Transfer Grace Period is a specified number of hours following the transfer of a domain according to Part A of Exhibit B to the Registry-Registrar Agreement. The current value of the Transfer Grace Period is 120 hours. If a Delete, Extend, or Transfer occurs within that 120 hours, the following rules apply:

Delete: If a domain is deleted within the Transfer Grace Period, the sponsoring Registrar at the time of the deletion receives a credit of the transfer fee. The domain is deleted from the Registry database and is immediately available for registration by any Registrar. See Overlapping Grace Period for a description of overlapping grace period exceptions.

Extend (Renew): If a domain is extended within the Transfer Grace Period, there is no credit for the transfer. The Registrar's account will be charged for the number of years the registration is extended. The expiration date of the domain is extended by the number of years, up to a maximum of ten years, as specified by the registrar's requested Extend operation.

Transfer (other than ICANN-approved bulk transfer): If a domain is transferred within the Transfer Grace Period, there is no credit. The expiration date of the domain is extended by one year up to a maximum term of ten years.

Bulk Transfer (with ICANN approval): Bulk transfers with ICANN approval may be made during the Transfer Grace Period according to the procedures in Part B of Exhibit B to the Registry-Registrar Agreement. The expiration dates of transferred registrations are not affected. The losing Registrar's account is charged for the Transfer operation that occurred prior to the Bulk Transfer.

Bulk Transfer Grace Period

There is no grace period associated with Bulk Transfer operations according to Part B of Exhibit D to the Registry-Registrar Agreement. Upon completion of the Bulk Transfer, any associated fee is not refundable.

Overlapping Grace Periods

If an operation is performed that falls into more than one grace period, the actions appropriate for each grace period apply except as follows:

If a domain is deleted within the Add Grace Period and the Extend Grace Period, then the registrar is credited the registration and extend amounts, taking into account the number of years for which the registration and extend were done.

Overlap Exception

If a domain is deleted within one or several Transfer Grace Periods, then only the current sponsoring Registrar is credited for the transfer amount. For example if a domain is transferred from Registrar A to Registrar B and then to Registrar C and finally deleted by Registrar C within the Transfer Grace Period of the first, second and third transfers, then only the last transfer is credited to Registrar C.
If a domain is extended/renewed within the Transfer Grace Period, then the current Registrar's account is charged for the number of years the registration is extended.

Note: If several billable operations, including transfers, are performed on a domain and the domain is deleted within the grace periods of each of those operations, only those operations that were performed after the latest transfer, including the latest transfer, are credited to the current Registrar.

Pending Periods

Transfer Pending Period

The Transfer Pending Period is a specified number of hours following a request from a registrar (registrar A) to transfer a domain in which the current registrar of the domain (registrar B) may explicitly approve or reject the transfer request. The current value of the Transfer Pending Period is 120 hours for all registrars. The transfer will be finalized upon receipt of explicit approval or rejection from the current registrar (registrar B). If the current registrar (registrar B) does not explicitly approve or reject the request initiated by registrar A, the registry will approve the request automatically after the end of the Transfer Pending Period. During the Transfer Pending Period:

RRP TRANSFER request or RRP RENEW request is denied.
RRP DELETE request is denied.
Bulk Transfer operations are allowed.
Delete Pending Period

The Delete Pending Period is a specified number of hours following a request to delete a domain in which the domain is placed in HOLD status without removing the domain from the Registry database. The current value of the Delete Pending Period for all registrars is 120 hours.

Registrars may request retraction of a delete request by calling Registry Operator Customer Service staff within the Delete Pending Period. The Registrar will need to provide the security phrase to the Registry Operator staff member prior to the staff member performing this retraction. This operation cannot be performed by the Registrar. Retraction requests processed during the delete pending period are currently at no cost to the registrar. If, by the end of the Delete Pending Period, no action is taken the domain will be deleted from the Registry database and returned to the pool of domain names available for registration by any registrar.

EPP Renew requests are ignored.
EPP Transfer request is denied.
Bulk Transfer operations are allowed.

Page Updated 03-Jul-2001

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