When does a .store domain expire and drop?
An expired .store drops about 80 days later. Here is that timeline in full, plus who runs .store, what it is used for, and how to register one.
An expired .store is released about 80 days after expiry, running a full grace, redemption and pending-delete lifecycle. .store is an open generic extension operated by Radix, delegated in 2016 for retail and ecommerce use and open to anyone worldwide.
- Registry
- Radix
- Backend
- CentralNic
- Type
- gTLD
- Delegated
- 2016-02-11
- DNSSEC
- Yes
- IDN
- Yes
- Restrictions
- Open
- Label length
- 1–63 chars
- Grace
- 45 days
- Redemption
- 30 days
- Pending delete
- 5 days
- Expiry to drop
- 80 days
- Daily drop window
- 13:00–20:00 UTC
A gTLD for retail
.store is an unrestricted generic run by Radix on CentralNic's platform, following the standard lifecycle: up to 45 days of renewal grace, 30 days of redemption, and a 5-day pending delete.
It reads as a shop the moment it is seen, which made it a natural fit for online retail and pop-up commerce. Its drop stream mixes real stores with abandoned launches, so a watchlist is how you tell a name heading for release from one that will be renewed.
Who runs .store, and since when
.store was delegated in 2016 by Radix as an ecommerce-focused extension, arriving as online retail was expanding fast, and it became one of the more recognisable commerce gTLDs.
As an ICANN-contracted gTLD it follows the standard registry lifecycle, which our engine encodes as data and re-verifies against the live record rather than assuming.
How to register a .store domain
A .store is open to anyone worldwide with no eligibility or presence requirement; the name states plainly that a site sells something.
First-year promotional pricing drives speculative registration, so many lapsed .store names drop uncontested. An expiring .store you want follows the same stages as any generic; watch it and act at pending delete.
- Open registration: anyone worldwide can hold a .store domain, with no local-presence requirement.
- Register through any accredited registrar; the registry sells wholesale, not direct to the public.
- Labels run up to 63 characters using letters, digits and hyphens, never starting or ending with a hyphen.
- Registration is annual and renewable; an unrenewed name enters the deletion timeline below.
The .store timeline, stage by stage
The stages an unrenewed .store passes through, each at its published length.
| Stage | Window | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Renewal grace: about 45 days | Day 0 to 45 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 45 to 75 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. |
| Pending delete: 5 days | Day 75 to 80 after expiry | The point of no return. Recovery is no longer possible for anyone, including the original owner, and the registry releases the name at the end of this fixed window. This is the stage worth acting on if you want the name. |
| Released: registrable by anyone | From about day 80 | 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. |
.store technical profile
How .store publishes registration data, secures its zone, and handles non-Latin names.
WHOIS and RDAP
Registration data for every .store domain is queryable over RDAP at https://rdap.radix.host/rdap/ and legacy WHOIS at whois.nic.store, so status, dates and record changes are machine-readable, which is exactly what our monitoring reads.
DNSSEC
The .store registry supports DNSSEC, so a domain can publish DS records and let resolvers cryptographically validate its DNS answers against tampering.
Internationalized names
The .store registry supports internationalized domain names, so labels in non-Latin scripts register as punycode alongside ordinary ASCII names.
https://rdap.radix.host/rdap/
whois.nic.store
Running on CentralNic's registry platform, .store publishes standard EPP statuses and RDAP records, so its stage transitions and drop timing are observable exactly as a .com's are.
Is .store a good domain?
Where .store fits, and its trade-off.
Reads as a shop
The extension signals commerce instantly, which suits a storefront, a brand pop-up or a product line that wants its purpose in the address itself.
Names still open
As a newer commerce extension, .store still has short and brand names free that the equivalent .com sold long ago.
Watch the renewal price
Like many new gTLDs, .store is often cheap in the first year and dearer to renew, which is why so many are registered speculatively and then lapse.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about .store domains.
What is .store, and who runs it?
.store is an open generic top-level domain operated by Radix, delegated in 2016 for retail and ecommerce use.
How long does it take for an expired .store to drop?
About 80 days: up to 45 days of renewal grace, 30 days of redemption, then 5 days of pending delete. Registrars often delete before the end of grace; the pending-delete window is fixed.
Is .store a good domain for an online shop?
It states the purpose in the name and often has a brand available that .com does not. Check the renewal price before committing, since new gTLDs like this are frequently cheapest in the first year only.
What is the best way to get a .store that is expiring?
Watch it and act at the pending-delete stage. Most lapsed .store names are uncontested, so an alert at release is usually early enough to hand-register.
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