pendingRenew status

What pendingRenew means

pendingRenew means the registry has accepted a request to renew (extend) the domain's registration but has not finished processing it. In RDAP it appears as pending renew.

At most registries renewals complete immediately, so this status is rare and usually short-lived. RFC 5731 allows a registry to hold a request like this for human review or for an action by a third party.

RFC 5731 does not allow pendingRenew to be combined with clientRenewProhibited or serverRenewProhibited. When the renewal completes, the registry removes the status and updates the expiration date.

Official definition: ICANN, EPP Status Codes: What Do They Mean, and Why Should I Know? (pendingRenew)

Why a domain has this status

• The registrar sent a renewal request and the registry has not completed it yet.
• The registry is holding the renewal for review or for an action by a third party.

What you should do

• If you renewed the domain, wait for the status to clear and check that the expiration date has moved forward.
• If the status lasts more than a few days, ask your registrar to check with the registry.
• If you did not ask for a renewal and don't want to pay for one, contact your registrar straight away.

Check a domain's status

Look up any domain to see its current status codes, registrar, expiration date and name servers from the registry's RDAP or WHOIS service.

Related status codes

• renewPeriod: The domain was renewed within the last few days (usually 5 for gTLDs) and is in its renew grace period; no action is needed.
• autoRenewPeriod: The domain has expired and the registry renewed it automatically; for gTLDs the registrar has up to 45 days to keep or delete it.
• clientRenewProhibited: The registrar has blocked renewals of the domain, an uncommon status usually tied to a legal dispute or a planned deletion.
• serverRenewProhibited: The registry won't allow the domain to be renewed, an uncommon status usually linked to a legal dispute or an upcoming deletion.

Frequently asked questions

Is my domain safe while it shows pendingRenew?

Yes. The domain keeps working normally while the renewal is processed. When it completes, the status disappears and the new expiration date shows up in lookups.

Why hasn't my expiration date changed after renewing?

If the domain shows pendingRenew, the registry hasn't finished the renewal yet, so the old date is still shown. If there is no pendingRenew and the date still hasn't changed a day later, ask your registrar whether the renewal reached the registry.

Further reading

• What is RDAP? How registries publish status codes and other registration data
• RDAP vs WHOIS: why the same status has two names
• How to find a domain owner