Domain lock (update, delete and registry lock)

The remaining EPP prohibitions: clientUpdateProhibited and clientDeleteProhibited set by your registrar, serverUpdateProhibited and serverDeleteProhibited set by the registry, and the bundled registry lock services that apply several at once.

Domain lock (update, delete and registry lock)

Unavailable

Registry codes clientUpdateProhibited clientDeleteProhibited serverUpdateProhibited serverDeleteProhibited registryLock

What it means for you

These are protections, not faults, and seeing several at once on a healthy domain is normal. The prefix is the whole story: client codes are yours to remove in your registrar account, server codes are the registry's and no registrar support desk can clear them for you. An update prohibition blocks changes to nameservers and contacts, which is why a DNS change that will not save is often a lock rather than a bug. A delete prohibition stops the name being deleted, deliberately or otherwise. Registry lock services sold for high-value domains apply the server-side set together and require an out-of-band identity check to lift, which is the point of them.

Example

A lookup on a well-managed domain returns clientTransferProhibited, clientUpdateProhibited and clientDeleteProhibited together. Nothing is wrong: the registrar has locked the name against transfer, edits and deletion, and the owner can lift any of the three from their account when they need to make a change.

Monitor it Domain status monitoring

Tool Look up a domain's status codes

How to tell if a domain is locked

Look up the domain's registry record and read its status codes.
Codes starting client, such as clientUpdateProhibited, are your registrar's locks and can be lifted in your account.
Codes starting server, such as serverUpdateProhibited, are the registry's, and several together usually mean a registry lock service.
Enter the domain below to read its live status codes.

The status label and the stage sentence above are the same ones Domainyze shows on a monitored domain.

Domain lifecycle statuses

Registered (active): A domain that is currently held by a registrant and is not near its expiry date. The registry will not let anyone else register it.
Expiring soon: A registered domain whose expiry date falls inside the next 90 days. It is still fully active; the clock is simply visible.
Registry expiry date: The date the registry holds as the end of a domain's current registration term. Every post-expiry stage, grace, redemption and pending delete, counts from it.
Grace period: The window immediately after expiry in which the registrant can still renew the domain at the ordinary renewal price. Length is set by the registry, commonly around 45 days for generic TLDs.
autoRenewPeriod: The EPP status a registry sets when it has automatically renewed an expired domain on the registrar's account, giving the registrar a window to either collect payment or cancel the renewal for a refund.
clientHold: An EPP status set by the registrar that removes the domain from the DNS zone. The name stays registered, but it stops resolving: no website, no email.
serverHold: The registry's own version of clientHold. The domain is removed from the zone and stops resolving, and the registrar cannot lift it.
clientTransferProhibited: An EPP status that blocks the domain from being transferred to another registrar. It is a lock, not a problem, and most registrars set it by default.
pendingTransfer: A transfer to another registrar has been requested and is waiting on the losing registrar. The domain still works normally while it sits here.
Expired: The registration term has run out and has not been paid for. The name is past its expiry date but has not yet been released.
Redemption period: The recovery window after the grace period, in which only the original registrant can get the domain back, and only by paying a restore fee on top of the renewal. Commonly 30 days on generic TLDs.
pendingDelete: The final registry window before an expired domain is released. Nothing can recover it here, not even the original owner: the name is queued for deletion. Commonly five days on generic TLDs.
Available: The name is not registered. Anyone can register it at any registrar, at the going price for its TLD.
Auction: The domain is being sold on a marketplace rather than released to the public. It may never reach a public drop at all.
Drop catching: Registering an expired domain the instant the registry deletes it, usually by sending automated registration requests through many registrar connections at once.
Backorder: A request placed with a drop-catching service to try to register a domain for you when it drops. It is an attempt, not a reservation.
Blocked or reserved: The registry will not let anyone register this name at all. It is reserved by policy or blocked by a brand-protection service, and it will not drop.
Reclaimed: A domain you were watching was renewed or restored by its original owner. It went through the recovery windows and came back out registered to the same registrant.
Taken: A domain you were watching dropped and was registered by somebody else. The registration is new, so the registrant changed.
Unknown status: We do not have an authoritative answer about this name yet. It describes our read of the domain, not anything the domain is doing.

Domain lifecycle Browse the category All glossary terms