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Add Grace Period: The First 5 Days After Registration
Add Grace Period: The First 5 Days After Registration
Part 2 of 12 in the Domain Mastery series — Previous: Domain Lifecycle Overview
The Add Grace Period (AGP) is a 5-day window immediately after you register a new domain. During this time, the registration can be cancelled and the registration fee refunded. Think of it as a short "cooling off" period.
Why Does It Exist?
The Add Grace Period was designed to allow correction of honest mistakes:
- Typos — You accidentally registered
exampel.cominstead ofexample.com - Duplicate orders — A system glitch caused a double registration
- Fraud — A stolen credit card was used to register a domain
- Change of mind — You decided you don't need the domain after all
What Happens During the 5-Day Window?
| Attribute | Details |
|---|---|
| Duration | 5 calendar days from registration |
| Domain active? | Yes — website and DNS work immediately |
| Can you cancel? | Yes — full refund of registration fee |
| Can you transfer? | No — 60-day lock applies to new registrations |
| Can you renew? | Yes — but this ends the grace period |
What Makes AGP Different From Other Grace Periods
If a domain is cancelled during the Add Grace Period, it becomes immediately available for anyone to register again. This is different from every other grace period, where deletion sends the domain into the Redemption Period instead.
| Grace Period | What Happens on Cancellation |
|---|---|
| Add Grace Period | Domain immediately available to public |
| Renew Grace Period | Domain enters Redemption Period |
| Auto-Renew Grace Period | Domain enters Redemption Period |
| Transfer Grace Period | Domain enters Redemption Period |
The Domain Tasting Story
Before 2008, some companies exploited the Add Grace Period through a practice called "domain tasting." They would:
- Register thousands of domains
- Put advertising pages on all of them
- Keep the ones that earned money from ads
- Delete the unprofitable ones before day 5 — for free
At its peak in 2008, 17 million domains per month were being registered and deleted this way. ICANN responded with the AGP Limits Policy, which caps refundable cancellations at:
- 10% of net new registrations per month, or
- 50 domains, whichever is greater
Cancellations above this threshold are not refunded. This policy reduced domain tasting by 99.7% within a year.
Overlap With Other Grace Periods
A domain can be in multiple grace periods at once. For example, if you renew a domain on day 3 after registration, it will be in both the Add Grace Period and the Renew Grace Period simultaneously. If cancelled during this overlap, both the registration and renewal fees are refunded.
Tips
- If you made a registration mistake, act quickly — you have only 5 calendar days
- Contact support as soon as possible for cancellation requests
- Always double-check the domain name spelling before completing your purchase