Question
How does domain renewal/expiration system work in Openprovider?
Answer
For renewal or expiration of a domain name, the expiration date in Openprovider is the most important date. This date can be earlier than the registry's expiration date, for example if the registry requires Openprovider to order the renewal some time before the expiration date of a domain name or if the registry has a hard cut-off date instead of a renewal grace period like many ccTLDs. This difference is called "renewal date offset".
Each domain needs to be renewed before its "expiration date in Openprovider". Depending on the auto-renewal settings in your account (account-wide or per-domain), Openprovider implements the following policies:
- At any time within 4 weeks before the domain's expiration date in Openprovider, the reseller can explicitly renew the domain via the reseller control panel (request queue renewals). For some extensions, including all gTLDs, this can even be done at any time, even before the last 4 weeks. As long as the account balance is sufficient, the renewal is ordered instantly.
- Domains not renewed explicitly, will be processed by our renewal and expiration scheduler:
- If auto-renewal is disabled (on account level or on domain level via modify domain), Openproviders system will cancel the domain registration on the expiration date in Openprovider.
- If auto-renewal is enabled (on account level or on domain level via modify domain) and the resellers account balance is sufficient, then the domain will be renewed on its expiration date in Openprovider for the minimum period available (in most cases 1 year).
- If auto-renewal is enabled (on account level or on domain level via modify domain) but the resellers account balance is not sufficient, then the domain registration will be canceled on the expiration date in Openprovider.
In most cases a deleted domain is restorable for a certain; reactivate the domain via the restore queue in the RCP. Additional costs may apply. Please note processed renewals cannot be canceled, no refunds are possible.
Note: Customers using API should work with the "renewal_date" - which is the equivalent of "Expiration date" shown in your RCP domain details.
Grace periods
Upon explicit renewal or auto-renewal of a domain name, Openprovider sends a renew order to the registry. At that moment Openprovider pays for an additional year and this additional year is added to the domain's registration period.
As a result, any renewals that were processed cannot be undone, whether it was a renewal for too many years or a renewal shortly before a transfer-out.
Some registries have policies for deletion of domains in the add grace period, the first days after registration of a new domain. Openprovider does by default not refund domain deletes during the grade periods. In exceptional cases (for example a high number of incorrect registrations or an expensive premium domain), contact our support department to see if we can find a solution for you.
Deletion and expiration of frozen domain names
In exceptional cases, a registry may block (or freeze) a domain name and prohibit deletion or expiration of such a domain name. Mostly, this is due to pending court orders or other legal investigations. As defined in §11.10 of our Terms and Conditions, we reserve the right to charge for a renewal fee in case we cannot delete a domain or let it expire, even if the reseller's intention is not to renew the domain name.
SSL certificates
SSL certificates need to be renewed: once the period is over, The reseller need to order a new certificate. Our advise is to start the new order at least 4 weeks before the current SSL certificate expires to prevent any interruption of the secured website. When starting the order within the last 90 days of the old SSL being active, the remaining period of the SSL certificate will be added to the new certificate (only within current active order).
Please note new order for the same domain is not renewal.
The reseller can also use the auto-renew option for SSL certificates. This makes sure that you renew your certificate in time. Openprovider system will automatically request the certificate with the original CSR.
Read more about the auto-renew option for SSL certificates in the article.
When the reseller forgot to renew the certificate and the new order takes longer because of validation, a quick solution is to order a domain validated (DV) certificate (EssentialSSL or similar). Such a certificate is available within a few minutes, allowing you to continue on a secure website without browser warnings. Once the real order is finished, just install that one and revoke the intermediate solution. If this is done within 30 days, The reseller will receive a full refund.
Plesk licenses
Plesk licenses will always be renewed automatically as long as the reseller account balance is sufficient. If the account balance is insufficient, the license is terminated. Reactivation is not possible - the best and quickest solution is to order a new license and install that on your server.
There is no adjustable autorenewal setting for plesk licenses.
Spamfilter bundles
A spamfilter bundle or filter is renewed automatically as long as the account balance is sufficient. If the reseller want to cancel a filter or subscription, the reseller has to delete it from the control panel.
You can find instructions here. There is no adjustable autorenewal setting for spamfilters.
If the account balance is insufficient for renewal, an expiration procedure will be started that causes as little issues as possible.
Notes
- The expiration and renewal dates in Openprovider are leading. If a reseller encounter any difference between the registry's dates and those of Openprovider, inform us immediately for further investigation. Openprovider is not responsible for any issues caused by such a difference.
