Grace Period
After an ENS name expires it enters into what's called a Grace Period. This is a 90-day window provided as a courtesy where the owner can renew it and keep it at the regular renewal cost.
Every 2LD (second-level domain, like name.eth) will have a 90 day Grace Period after the name’s registration expires.
⚠️ If you let the Grace Period run out you will lose the name. There are also restrictions on names in Grace Period.
Keep in mind, when you extend a registration, the added time is applied to the name’s expiry date, which in turn shifts the start of the Grace Period forward.
For example, if a name expired 60 days ago, and you only extend the registration for 30 days, then the name will still be expired, and the end of the Grace Period will just be extended for 30 days.
For more information on how this fits into the lifecycle of an ENS name and an overview of all states an ENS name goes through, please see Name Lifecycle
Restrictions During Grace Period
During the Grace Period, a name has some restrictions which mean not all updates or changes can be made until the name registration is extended and has a valid expiration date in the future. While in this state, certain actions are restricted, including:
The name’s owner & manager cannot be transferred.
Listings and trades on secondary markets like OpenSea will not work.
For names wrapped in the Name Wrapper contract, additional restrictions apply:
The Resolver cannot be edited.
Subnames cannot be created.
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Common Questions
Can i extend names my wallet does not own?
Any wallet can extend a name's registration. Extending a name does not alter ownership.
Is the ENS name still functional while in Grace Period?
Yes, your name and records remain intact. Sending Ethereum tokens to the name will still arrive at the wallet address the name is pointed to. The ENS NFT remains in your wallet. Ownership cannot be changed while in Grace Period.
What happens when the Grace Period ends?
If a name is not renewed during the 90-day Grace Period, it enters a Temporary Premium Auction where anyone can register it at a declining premium price.
What happens to ENS NFTs after the name leaves grace period?
When a name expires and passes through grace period, the ENS NFT is not immediately burned from a wallet - it stays in the former owners possession until the name is newly registered by someone else.
The name will technically continue to function with active records. Records are not cleared until the name is newly registered and the old NFT token is burned, and a new NFT is minted to the new owner.
Why is my name showing as expired when I just renewed it?
This can happen if you renewed during the 90-day Grace Period but didn’t extend far enough for the name to return to active registration. For example, if your name expired 70 days ago and you extended it by 30 days, it’s still 40 days into Grace Period - both the expiry and grace end dates shift forward. Once you extend it beyond the expiry date, the name will be in registration.