Domain Expiry Monitoring
Monitor domain registration expiry dates via RDAP.
Domain Expiry Monitoring
An expired domain is one of the most severe incidents that can happen to a website. Once a domain expires, the entire online presence becomes unreachable — and in the worst case, the domain is registered by a third party. Our Domain Expiry Monitoring helps you proactively prevent this.
How it works
We use the RDAP protocol (Registration Data Access Protocol) — the modern successor to WHOIS — to query the registration data of your domains directly from the responsible registries. RDAP delivers structured, reliable data and is supported by all major TLDs.
Check Interval
Currently, we perform the check every 12 hours (configurable via environment variable).
- Reason: Domain registration data changes infrequently. A 12-hour rhythm provides timely detection while remaining respectful towards registry rate limits.
- Note: If there is a real need for more frequent checks, please contact us.
Two monitoring paths
Domain Expiry Monitoring works through two independent channels:
1. Website-based checks
If the Domain Expiry Check is enabled for a website, we automatically extract the domain from the URL and check its expiry date. Results are stored alongside the regular monitoring data.
2. Registered customer domains
Domains can also be registered independently in the Admin → Domains section. This is useful for:
- Domains that are not actively monitored as websites (e.g., parked domains, mail-only domains).
- Tracking domains with individual warning thresholds per domain.
- Per-domain notification overrides (separate email/phone contacts).
Thresholds
Two configurable thresholds determine when alerts are triggered:
| Threshold | Default | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Warning | 30 days | Early heads-up that renewal is due soon. |
| Critical | 7 days | Urgent alert — domain expires within days. |
These thresholds can be configured individually per website or per registered domain.
What happens when a threshold is breached?
- Warning: You receive an alert via your configured notification channels when the domain enters the warning window.
- Critical: An urgent alert is triggered if the domain expires within the critical threshold.
- Expired: If the domain has already expired, we flag it immediately.
- Recovery: When a domain is renewed and no longer within the warning window, open incidents are automatically resolved and a recovery notification is sent.
Monitored Data
For each domain, we record and display:
- Expiry Date: When the domain registration expires.
- Registrar: Which registrar manages the domain (e.g., "INWX", "Hetzner", "GoDaddy").
- Days Until Expiry: Calculated in real time.
- Current Status: OK, Warning, Critical, or Expired.
- Last Checked: Timestamp of the most recent RDAP lookup.
Supported TLDs
RDAP is supported by all major gTLDs (.com, .net, .org, etc.) and many ccTLDs (.de, .at, .ch, .nl, .uk, etc.). If a TLD is not supported by RDAP, we skip the check silently — no false alerts are generated.
Troubleshooting
If we report a domain expiry issue:
- Check with your registrar whether the domain is set to auto-renew.
- Verify that the payment method on file with your registrar is still valid.
- For domains managed by third parties, confirm that the responsible person is aware of the upcoming renewal.