serverHold

The registry's own version of clientHold. The domain is removed from the zone and stops resolving, and the registrar cannot lift it.

serverHold

Grace Period

The registry's own version of clientHold. The domain is removed from the zone and stops resolving, and the registrar cannot lift it.

Registry codes serverHold

What it means for you

serverHold is set above the registrar, usually for a legal order, a dispute, or a registry-level policy or abuse action. The practical effect on the name is identical to clientHold, but the route out runs through the registry rather than your provider, so the registrar's support desk cannot clear it for you. It is rarer than clientHold and more serious, because it means somebody above the registrar has acted. The first step is asking the registrar which request or policy put it there, because the registry will usually only talk to them.

Where it sits in the lifecycle

Active
Expiring soon
Grace period
Redemption
Pending delete
Available

Expired, but the owner can still renew it cheaply. Not gettable yet.

Example

A brand's domain stops resolving overnight. The record still shows it as registered and well inside its term, with serverHold in its status codes. The registrar confirms the registry placed the hold after a court order in a trademark dispute, and the name stays dark until the order is lifted, whatever DNS changes the owner makes.

Related terms clientHold EPP Registry

Monitor it Domain status monitoring

Tool Look up a domain's registry record

How to tell if a domain is on serverHold

Look up the domain's WHOIS or RDAP record and read its status lines.
A status of serverHold means the registry has removed the name from the DNS: it is still registered, but nothing on it resolves.
Ask your registrar which request or policy placed it: the registry usually deals only with them.
Enter the domain below to read its live record and 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.
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.
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.
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