How UK domain drops work

A UK domain does not become available the moment it expires. It passes through several registry stages first.

1. 1

   Expiry

   A .uk registration reaches the end of its term. The registrant can still renew it, and most do.

2. 2

   Suspension

   Shortly after expiry the domain stops resolving. Websites and email attached to it go offline, but the registration still exists.

3. 3

   Deletion process

   If it stays unrenewed, the registry begins the deletion process. There is still a window in which the registrant can restore it.

4. 4

   Pending delete

   The domain can no longer be restored by the previous registrant. From this point the drop is effectively certain.

5. 5

   Scheduled drop

   The registration is removed and the name becomes available for anyone to register again, at a specific timestamp.

What is a droplist?

A droplist is the set of domains scheduled to be deleted. Domains join it 30 days after expiry and can still be renewed until 90 days after expiry. The last 5 days before the drop are Nominet's Pending Delete Grace Period, when renewal is no longer possible. UK Drops marks domains in those final 5 days as confirmed and currently lists only these Pending Delete domains.

Source: Nominet, domain expiry process and drop lists for .UK