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A domain backorder is a paid request for a service to try to register a name the second it drops after expiry. You usually pay only if it succeeds: $59 at DropCatch for .com, $99 at Park.io, free to place at Dynadot. If two or more people backorder the same name, it goes to an auction and the highest bidder wins.
Show me DropCatch’s backorder terms
You’ve just thought of the perfect domain name. It’s catchy, genius, and exactly what your business needs. But it’s taken. Your heart sinks. You go check out the site and see that it’s being unused, which makes it even worse. You should be putting the domain to good use!
Have no fear, there is a solution. Although it’s not quick or cheap, a domain backorder service may be the answer to your problem.
Key takeaways
- An expired gTLD name passes through a grace period (up to 45 days), a 30-day redemption period and a 5-day pending delete before anyone can register it.
- Many valuable names never reach the drop. Registrars can auction them during the grace period.
- DropCatch charges $59 for a successful .com backorder. NameJet and SnapNames show a minimum bid on each name.
- GoDaddy retired backorders on October 7, 2025. It still runs GoDaddy Auctions for expired names.
- From October 1, 2026, Verisign starts .com and .net drops around 12:00 UTC (8 a.m. Eastern in summer). DropCatch’s .com/.net backorder cutoff moves to 11:30 UTC. Place backorders earlier than you used to.
What does it mean to backorder a domain?
Backordering a domain means placing a request on a domain name that you want for your website but is already owned by someone else. You place it hoping that the current owner will not be renewing their registration and ownership of it, and that it will soon be up for grabs.
Backordering a domain means that you really want that domain name. Even though it is owned by someone else, you know it is the perfect domain name for you and your website. Backordering a domain is recommended for those who really want a particular domain name and are absolutely sure that it is the domain name for them.
Placing a backorder means that you will know when the domain name is going through the process of expiration and possible renewal, and when it will officially become available for registration under a new owner. Placing a backorder on a domain means being one of the first to know when the domain name you want becomes free for the taking. Backordering a domain also means that you will be notified when an auction for that domain name is about to start, and you can start placing bids on it, thus raising the chances of successfully getting that domain name.
What happens to a domain after it expires?
Before we move on to the juicy parts of this post, it’s important to understand how the domain name lifecycle works.
Think of it as a slow extraction. The name leaves the owner in stages, and each stage decides who gets the next shot at it. Here is the timeline ICANN’s rules set for generic domains like .com, .net and .org:
| Stage | How long | Who can get the name |
|---|---|---|
| Expiry date | Day 0 | Owner can still renew at normal price |
| Auto-renew grace period | Up to 45 days (registrar decides) | Owner renews; registrar may list it in an expired auction |
| Redemption grace period | 30 days | Owner only, usually with a restore fee |
| Pending delete | 5 days | Nobody. The name is locked |
| Drop | One daily batch | First registrar to grab it |
Domains do expire. The domain name becomes “expired” if its current owner does not renew it by its expiration date. It then undergoes a grace period of sorts where the domain’s services can be shut off but the current owner of the domain still has a chance to renew the domain for a standard renewal fee.
Once the domain enters this grace period, there is a decent chance the current owner won’t renew it at all. If the current owner was planning on renewing and keeping the domain name, they would have made sure to renew their registration before its expiration date. However, it is also likely that the owner was just being lazy or procrastinating, so they can still renew their registration of the domain name without penalty and to the misfortune of people who want that domain name to be free for the taking.
Then, once the grace period has ended, the domain name goes through a “redemption period” where it becomes harder for the current owner to renew their registration (a restore fee on top of the renewal), and the chances of the domain name becoming free for new ownership and registration are even higher. After this “redemption period”, the domain name becomes “locked” before going through a deletion phase, which takes approximately five days. Once the process ends, the domain name is officially up for registration for those who want it.
ICANN requires registrars to send renewal reminders about a month and a week before expiry. Before it deletes the name, the registrar must also interrupt the site’s DNS for at least eight days, which is often the moment an owner finally notices.
The grace period matters most to buyers. ICANN’s own registrant guide warns owners that, depending on the registrar’s terms, an expired name may be auctioned to a third party during this window. That’s why a name held at a big registrar often sells in that registrar’s expired auction and never drops at all.
Country-code domains (.io, .co, .uk) follow their own registry rules. Timelines differ, so check before you backorder one.
How does drop-catching actually work?
The process of getting a domain once the domain name becomes available for registration is not as simple as it once was. It used to be first come, first serve in that the quickest person to register for a recently expired and highly desired domain name would be the one who got it.
Now, web domain name registrars like GoDaddy conduct auctions for expired domain names. That way, these domain name registrars earn extra profits, and the domain name goes to the highest bidder rather than the quickest and luckiest domain name hunter. The old process only happens if an expired domain name was not sold in auction, and then it goes through an automated “dropcatching service” like the ones listed later in this guide.
At the drop, the registry releases a batch of deleted names. Every registrar that wants a particular name fires registration requests at it in the same few seconds. The first successful request wins.
Registries limit how many connections each accredited registrar gets. So catching services buy many accreditations to get more shots. DropCatch’s parent company, TurnCommerce, now runs more than 1,500 registrars under the DropCatch brand, almost 47% of all ICANN-accredited registrars, after buying 300 more in September 2026 (Domain Incite). Newfold Digital, which owns SnapNames, has over 500. You cannot compete with that from a normal registrar account and a fast finger.
Timing change: Verisign moves the .com and .net drop to start around 12:00 UTC from October 1, 2026. That’s 8 a.m. Eastern (5 a.m. Pacific) during daylight saving time. The old drop ran in the evening UTC. DropCatch has moved its .com/.net backorder cutoff to 11:30 UTC to match. If you used to place backorders over breakfast, do it the night before now.
Which domain backorder service should you use?
There are several domain backorder companies available online, but which ones are the cream of the crop? Which have the best services, and how do you know which one is the best for you?
Many domain name registrar sites have domain backorder services that make it easier for users to keep track of the status of domain names and place bids once they expire and become available for auction. Many services also include a “no cure, no pay” policy, personalized alerts for certain domain names or relevant keywords, and other domain monitoring features. No cure, no pay means that users will not have to pay if the service cannot successfully dropcatch the expired domain name. All these services hope to make placing domain backorders and securing backordered domains easier and less time-consuming. These services save customers a lot of time and also raise their chances of successfully securing an expired domain they backordered.
Pick the service whose network actually catches your kind of name. For .com and .net, the big three are DropCatch, the NameJet/SnapNames pair and the registrar-run options. For .io and other ccTLDs, Park.io is the specialist.
| Service | Owner | Fee if caught (single backorder) | If several people backorder | Charged if it misses? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DropCatch | TurnCommerce (also NameBright, HugeDomains) | $59 for .com/.net; Discount Club $13 to $58 at lowest priority, no auction | 3-day public auction | No |
| NameJet | Newfold Digital | Your backorder amount, at least the minimum bid shown | Private 3-day auction among backorderers | No |
| SnapNames | Newfold Digital | Minimum bid shown per name | 3-day auction | No |
| Dynadot | Dynadot | Price shown per name ($24.99 on the .com names we saw); placing is free | Public 7 to 10 day auction | No |
| Park.io | humbly, LLC | $99 | Auction; first backorderer holds the opening bid | No |
| GoDaddy | GoDaddy | Backorders retired Oct 7, 2025 | Use GoDaddy Auctions instead | n/a |
DropCatch
DropCatch is the largest dedicated catcher. Placing backorders through DropCatch is free. Customers are only charged if the backordered domain has been successfully secured for them. There are two potential outcomes for when a user backorders a domain on DropCatch. If that user is the only one to backorder a domain, they pay $59 (for .com and .net) and the domain name is theirs, but if multiple people place backorders on the same domain, then the domain goes to a public auction. The auction will last 3 days and the highest bidder will win. Its Discount Club lets you name a price from $13 to $58 for .com and .net, but those orders only win when nobody placed a regular backorder, and they never go to auction. DropCatch itself tells you to use a regular backorder for contested names.
NameJet and SnapNames
These two now belong to Newfold Digital, the company behind Bluehost and HostGator, and share expiring inventory from partner registrars. Both got refreshed websites in June 2026. For years they looked old school, but SnapNames is actually a favorite of domainers and pros. Again, customers only have to pay if the domain name they backordered was successfully secured for them.
NameJet allows users to add their preferred domain names to a personal domain name backorder list, and NameJet will do the monitoring work for them. NameJet also has a slew of exclusive pre-released domain names from its domain registrar partners, meaning they won’t be available for auction anywhere else.
Read NameJet’s rules carefully. A backorder there is a commitment: it is a real bid of at least the minimum shown on the name, and if you are the only backorderer you pay the full amount. It is also your fixed starting bid, not a proxy bid. If you’re the only backorderer, you get the name. If not, you enter a private 3-day auction with the other backorderers only.
Dynadot
Dynadot lets you place a backorder request for free and charges only if it catches the name. The price shows on each name; the .com names in its list on September 24, 2026 were $24.99. Multiple requests trigger a public auction lasting 7 to 10 days, with the first requester’s bid placed automatically at the backorder price. Win and you have 47 hours to pay. Dynadot also runs expired auctions for names coming out of its own customers’ grace periods. It’s a good fit if you already keep your portfolio there; see where it sits among the best domain registrars.
Show me Dynadot’s backorder page
Park.io
Park.io is the ccTLD specialist, best known for .io. Its pricing page says $99 per backordered name, charged only if you get it. If others backorder the same name, Park.io runs an auction and the first backorderer holds the opening bid.
Show me Park.io’s ccTLD backorders
What happened to GoDaddy backorders?
GoDaddy is arguably the most popular and well-known web domain registrar around, and for years backordering domains on GoDaddy was fast and easy. Not any more. GoDaddy stopped selling backorder credits on August 8, 2024 and retired backorders and domain monitoring completely on October 7, 2025. Leftover credits could not be used after that date. GoDaddy now points buyers to GoDaddy Auctions, which it says adds more than 35,000 expired or closeout names a day. If a name is registered at GoDaddy, that auction is often where it ends up. Our GoDaddy company page has more on the company.
Where does CatchDoms fit?
CatchDoms isn’t a catching service. It’s a search tool that pulls listings from 22 auction and backorder platforms into one scored list. Pro costs 45 euros a month, or 39 euros a month billed yearly, and the free tier includes 7 days of Pro on signup. Useful for finding names. You still buy on the source platform.
What is the best way to backorder a domain?
Before we go over the best ways to backorder a domain, it’s important to know that placing a domain backorder does not guarantee that you will acquire the domain name once it becomes available.
Many variables affect the process of backordering a domain. For example, the current owner of the registered domain name might renew the registration, thus preventing it from being available for new ownership for the time being, or the backorder service might be unsuccessful in its attempts to register the domain name that you want. Other variables include having to participate in either a public or a private auction for the domain name, where someone else has as much of a chance at successfully getting the ownership for the domain name as you do.
In order to place a backorder, and start bidding for a domain name once it becomes available, you need to place a backorder at the appropriate domain registration auction house. This needs to be done before the domain name reaches its registration’s expiration date, or before the end of its “expired period” which, depending on its domain registrar, can potentially last up to 45 days. You will need to sign up for an account on the site where the domain name you want will become available.
But there are hundreds of domain name registrars and auction sites currently available online. How can you know which one will have the domain name you are looking for?
First, determine the domain name registrar. Most domain name registrars have an auction partner that they use, so knowing the registrar your domain name is under means you will know which auction site to go to when it’s time to place bids for your domain name. Simply do a WHOIS search with your desired domain name and look through the information to find the name’s registrar. One of the best chances of acquiring the expired domain name you want is to regularly keep track of the status and progress of the expired domain name at the auction house site used by the registrar.
Should you backorder at more than one service?
For a name you really want, yes. No single catcher wins every drop, and most charge nothing on a miss. Backordering at DropCatch plus NameJet/SnapNames plus your registrar’s own service costs nothing extra unless one of them succeeds.
Two caveats. At NameJet, your backorder is a binding bid if the name comes in, so only place it at a price you’ll honor. And if several services catch interest, you could end up bidding against strangers in more than one auction; only one will actually get the name.
How much should you budget?
For a name nobody else is watching, the fee is the price: $59 at DropCatch, $99 at Park.io. The trouble starts when a name has history, backlinks or a short, brandable string. Then it goes to auction, and the fee is just your opening bid.
Set a ceiling before the auction opens. Ask what the name earns you in year one: traffic, brand value, or simply not having to rebrand. Then add the first renewal. If you’ll build on the name, compare the .com renewal costs in our domain registrar guide before you transfer it anywhere.
Now go get your domain
It’s bad enough when a domain name you want for your website is already taken by someone else, but the process of waiting for that name to expire and become available can be just as bad. It can be difficult and frustrating and time consuming, and you aren’t even guaranteed the domain name. But being the new owner of an expired domain name that you’ve always wanted isn’t impossible.
Backordering a domain is one of the best and easiest ways to raise your chances of successfully being the new owner of your dream domain name once it expires. It takes a lot of the confusion and complication away from the whole process. Domain backorders make it easier to keep track of the status of a domain name you want, so you’ll know sooner when it expires and becomes available, or if it is renewed by its current owner, or when it goes up for auction on its current registrar’s auction partner site.
Got all the info? Now go get your domain!
FAQ
What is a domain backorder?
A domain backorder is a service that helps someone attempt to acquire a domain name once it becomes available for registration. Backordering a domain allows you to monitor the status of a domain name, and you only pay at most services if the catch succeeds.
Is a domain backorder guaranteed?
No. A backorder only buys an attempt. The owner can renew during the grace or redemption period, the registrar can sell it in its own expired auction, or another catcher can grab it first.
How long after a domain expires can I register it?
For a .com that goes all the way through, roughly 30 days of redemption plus 5 days of pending delete after the registrar deletes it, which can be up to 45 days after expiry. That’s up to about 80 days in total.
Do you pay for a failed backorder?
Not at DropCatch, NameJet, SnapNames, Dynadot or Park.io. All five charge only when they catch the name. Always read the terms, though: at NameJet, a backorder commits you to at least the minimum bid if the name arrives.
Can I backorder a domain at GoDaddy?
Not any more. GoDaddy retired backorders on October 7, 2025. You can still bid on expired names through GoDaddy Auctions.
What is the difference between a backorder and an expired domain auction?
A backorder targets the drop, after pending delete. An expired auction happens earlier, during the grace period, and is run by the registrar holding the name. Many good names sell in expired auctions and never drop.
Update log
- : Rewrote and fact-checked the page: the first full update since 2023. Kept Joe’s original writing where it still holds.
- : Prices and facts checked against the cited sources, read September 24, 2026.
