When does a .sg domain expire and drop?
- Expiry to drop
- 59 days
- Grace
- 29 days
- Redemption
- 30 days
- Pending delete
- None
An expired .sg is released about 59 days after expiry: about 29 days of renewal grace, then about 30 days of redemption in which the holder can restore it for a fee. There is no pending-delete stage. .sg is the country code of Singapore, run by SGNIC; foreign holders need a Singapore administrative contact.
Check a .sg expiry dateThe .sg timeline, stage by stage
The stages an unrenewed .sg passes through before release.
| Stage | Window | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Renewal grace: about 29 days | Day 0 to 29 after expiry | The registration has expired but the current owner can still renew at the normal price, usually through their registrar. The name often stops resolving during this window, and nobody else can register it. Registrars frequently delete earlier than the final day, which starts the rest of the timeline early. |
| Redemption: about 30 days | Day 29 to 59 after expiry | Deletion has begun. Only the current registrant can recover the name now, typically by paying a restore fee on top of the renewal, and it cannot be registered by anyone else. A restore during this stage is a strong signal the name will not drop. |
| Released: registrable by anyone | From about day 59 | 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. |
.sg at a glance
- Registry
- SGNIC
- Backend
- SGNIC
- Type
- ccTLD
- Country
- Singapore
- Delegated
- 1988-10-19
- DNSSEC
- Yes
- IDN
- No
- Restrictions
- Local-presence
- Label length
- 1–63 chars
- Grace
- 29 days
- Redemption
- 30 days
- Expiry to drop
- 59 days
Grace, redemption, then release
An unrenewed .sg has about 29 days of renewal grace at the normal price, then about 30 days of redemption behind a restore fee. Then it is released on a first-come basis.
There is no pending-delete stage, so the name moves straight from restorable to free. These stage lengths are published consistently by accredited registrars rather than by the registry, so a watch on the live status is the safer guide.
Who runs .sg, and since when
.sg is the country code of Singapore, delegated in 1988 and run by SGNIC.
Our engine re-verifies a .sg name's stage against its live record rather than relying on the published durations alone.
How to register a .sg domain
A .sg can be held from anywhere, but the administrative contact must be in Singapore and is verified through the national identity system.
- Singapore contact required: the administrative contact must have a Singapore presence and verify through Singpass or Corppass.
- Companies register with their business registration number; foreign holders often use a registrar's local-presence service.
- Labels use ASCII letters, digits and hyphens.
- Registration is renewable; an unrenewed or unverified name can be suspended and deleted.
Verification is enforced: a name whose contact is not verified in time is suspended. That applies to whoever catches a drop too.
.sg technical profile
How .sg publishes registration data, secures its zone, and handles non-Latin names.
WHOIS and RDAP
Registration data for every .sg domain is queryable over RDAP at https://rdap.sgnic.sg/rdap/ and legacy WHOIS at whois.sgnic.sg, so status, dates and record changes are machine-readable, which is exactly what our monitoring reads.
DNSSEC
The .sg registry supports DNSSEC, so a domain can publish DS records and let resolvers cryptographically validate its DNS answers against tampering.
Internationalized names
Names under .sg are registered in ASCII letters, digits and hyphens; Singapore's non-Latin scripts have their own separate top-level domains.
- RDAP
- https://rdap.sgnic.sg/rdap/
- WHOIS
- whois.sgnic.sg
The registry publishes .sg status over RDAP and WHOIS and signs the zone for DNSSEC, so a name's move into redemption is visible on the live record.
Is .sg a good domain?
Where .sg fits, and the constraint.
A Singapore address
For a business serving Singapore, .sg or .com.sg is what customers expect, and it signals a local presence.
A regional hub signal
Many companies use a .sg for their Southeast Asian headquarters, since Singapore is the region's business hub.
The contact constraint
The verified local contact adds a step for foreign holders and rules out anonymous registrations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about .sg domains.
What is a .sg domain?
.sg is the country code top-level domain of Singapore, delegated in 1988 and run by SGNIC.
How long does it take for an expired .sg to drop?
About 59 days: about 29 days of grace, then about 30 days of redemption, then release. There is no pending-delete stage.
Can a foreign company register a .sg?
Yes, but the administrative contact must be in Singapore and verify through Singpass or Corppass. Many registrars offer a local-presence service for this.
Can I restore a .sg in redemption?
Yes, if you are its holder, through your registrar, for a restore fee. After redemption ends, anyone can register it.