When does a .tv domain expire and drop?
An expired .tv drops about 80 days later. Here is that timeline in full, plus who runs .tv, why video and streaming brands adopted it, and how to register.
An expired .tv is released about 80 days after expiry, running a full grace, redemption and pending-delete lifecycle. .tv is the country code of Tuvalu, operated by Verisign on its gTLD platform, but used worldwide as the natural extension for television, video and live-streaming brands, and open to anyone.
- Registry
- Verisign
- Backend
- Verisign
- Type
- ccTLD
- Country
- Tuvalu
- Delegated
- 1996-03-18
- 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 ccTLD that means television
.tv is technically the country code of Tuvalu, but Verisign operates it on the same registry platform and lifecycle as a generic: up to 45 days of renewal grace, 30 days of redemption, and a 5-day pending delete.
Its whole value is the coincidence that the country code spells television, which made it the obvious home for video and streaming. Short and dictionary .tv names command premium prices, so knowing exactly when a lapsed one reaches the drop is worth far more here than on a quiet namespace.
Who runs .tv, and since when
.tv is the country code of Tuvalu, a small Pacific nation whose licensing of the extension is a significant source of national income, delegated in 1996 and operated commercially by Verisign.
Because it is a country code run on a commercial platform rather than an ICANN-contracted gTLD, its rules are the operator's to set, but it publishes the same stages and statuses as a generic, which our engine re-verifies against the live record.
How to register a .tv domain
A .tv is open to anyone worldwide with no local-presence rule; the constraint is price and competition on the best names, not eligibility.
Many short and category .tv names are registry-premium, priced well above a standard registration, and dictionary names are heavily watched. Treat a desirable expiring .tv as an aftermarket buy rather than a cheap hand-registration.
- Open registration: anyone worldwide can hold a .tv 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 .tv timeline, stage by stage
The stages an unrenewed .tv 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. |
.tv technical profile
How .tv publishes registration data, secures its zone, and handles non-Latin names.
WHOIS and RDAP
Registration data for every .tv domain is queryable over RDAP at https://rdap.nic.tv/ and legacy WHOIS at whois.nic.tv, so status, dates and record changes are machine-readable, which is exactly what our monitoring reads.
DNSSEC
The .tv registry supports DNSSEC, so a domain can publish DS records and let resolvers cryptographically validate its DNS answers against tampering.
Internationalized names
The .tv registry supports internationalized domain names, so labels in non-Latin scripts register as punycode alongside ordinary ASCII names.
https://rdap.nic.tv/
whois.nic.tv
Running on Verisign's gTLD platform, .tv publishes the same EPP statuses and RDAP records as a generic, which is what makes its drop timing knowable where most country codes are not.
Is .tv a good domain?
Why video brands pick .tv, and the catch.
Native to video
For a channel, a streaming service or a live show, .tv states the format in the address itself, which is why it became the default beyond .com for video brands.
The streamer default
Live streaming pushed a fresh wave of demand to .tv as creators and platforms adopted it, keeping the good names contested and their resale prices high.
Premium pricing
Many desirable .tv names carry a registry-premium price at both registration and renewal. Budget for that before building on one, and expect competition for a lapsing short name.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about .tv domains.
What is .tv, and who runs it?
.tv is the country code of Tuvalu, delegated in 1996 and operated commercially by Verisign on its gTLD platform, used worldwide as the extension for video and streaming.
How long does it take for an expired .tv to drop?
About 80 days: up to 45 days of renewal grace, 30 days of redemption, then 5 days of pending delete. Early registrar deletion can pull the first stage in; the pending-delete window is fixed.
Is .tv a good domain for a video brand?
For television, video or streaming it is the strongest thematic choice after .com, and audiences read it instantly. The trade-offs are premium pricing on the best names and competition for short ones.
What is the best way to get a .tv that is expiring?
Watch it from the moment you want it. For a contested short or dictionary name, plan on a backorder or catching service too, and check whether the name is registry-premium before you count on catching it cheaply.
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