When does a .cz domain expire and drop?
- Expiry to drop
- 60 days
- Grace
- 30 days
- Redemption
- 30 days
- Pending delete
- None
An expired .cz is cancelled and released about 60 days after expiry. For the first 30 days it keeps working and can be renewed; for the next 30 days it is taken out of the zone but can still be renewed. Then it is cancelled and anyone can register it. .cz is the country code of Czechia, run by CZ.NIC, and open worldwide.
Watch a .czThe .cz timeline, stage by stage
The two stages an unrenewed .cz passes through before cancellation.
| Stage | Window | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Still active: about 30 days | Day 0 to 30 after expiry | The registration has expired, but the name still resolves and its holder can renew it at the normal price. |
| Out of the zone: about 30 days | Day 30 to 60 after expiry | The name has been removed from the zone and no longer resolves, but the holder can still renew it. At the end of this stage the registry cancels it and anyone can register it. |
| Released: registrable by anyone | From about day 60 | The name leaves the registry's deletion pipeline and returns to the public pool, registrable at the standard price on a first-come basis through any registrar. Availability monitoring exists to catch this moment. |
.cz at a glance
- Registry
- CZ.NIC
- Backend
- CZ.NIC
- Type
- ccTLD
- Country
- Czechia
- Delegated
- 1993-01-13
- DNSSEC
- Yes
- IDN
- No
- Restrictions
- Open
- Label length
- 1–63 chars
- Grace
- 30 days
- Redemption
- 30 days
- Expiry to drop
- 60 days
Two renewable stages, then cancellation
For about 30 days after expiry a .cz stays fully functional and renewable. For about 30 days after that it stops resolving but can still be renewed. Then the registry cancels it.
There is no pending-delete stage, so the name goes from renewable to free in one step. The point to watch is the move out of the zone, which means release is a month away.
Who runs .cz, and since when
.cz is the country code of Czechia, delegated in 1993 and run by CZ.NIC, an association of Czech internet providers.
The stage lengths come from the registry's published registration rules, and our engine re-verifies them against the live record.
How to register a .cz domain
A .cz is open to anyone worldwide with no Czech presence requirement, and is the default extension for Czech businesses.
- Open to anyone, individual or company, with no Czech presence required.
- Register through an accredited registrar; the registry sells wholesale.
- Labels use ASCII letters, digits and hyphens; .cz does not offer internationalized names.
- Registration is renewable; an unrenewed name enters the timeline below.
Because a .cz keeps working for its first stage after expiry, a lapse is easy to miss. If you hold one, renew before the name leaves the zone.
.cz technical profile
How .cz publishes registration data, secures its zone, and handles non-Latin names.
WHOIS and RDAP
Registration data for every .cz domain is queryable over RDAP at https://rdap.nic.cz/ and legacy WHOIS at whois.nic.cz, so status, dates and record changes are machine-readable, which is exactly what our monitoring reads.
DNSSEC
The .cz registry supports DNSSEC, so a domain can publish DS records and let resolvers cryptographically validate its DNS answers against tampering.
Internationalized names
The .cz registry does not offer internationalized domain names, so Czech names are registered without diacritics, in ASCII letters, digits and hyphens.
- RDAP
- https://rdap.nic.cz/
- WHOIS
- whois.nic.cz
The registry publishes .cz status over RDAP and WHOIS and signs the zone for DNSSEC, so a name's move out of the zone is visible on the live record.
Is .cz a good domain?
Where .cz fits, and its trade-off.
A Czech address
For a business serving Czechia, .cz is the extension customers expect, often ahead of .com.
Open to everyone
There is no residency rule, so a foreign company can hold its .cz directly.
No diacritics
Czech words must be registered without their accents, so a brand written with diacritics needs an ASCII spelling.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about .cz domains.
What is a .cz domain?
.cz is the country code top-level domain of Czechia, delegated in 1993 and run by CZ.NIC. It is open to register worldwide.
How long does it take for an expired .cz to drop?
About 60 days: 30 days still active and renewable, then 30 days out of the zone and still renewable, then cancellation.
Can I still renew an expired .cz?
Yes, through both stages, until the registry cancels it. After cancellation it is open to anyone.
Can a .cz contain Czech characters like č or ř?
No. The registry does not offer internationalized names, so names are registered in plain ASCII.