Pending Delete Domains: Lists, Drop Times & Strategy

What pendingDelete Means

pendingDelete is an EPP status code, defined in the EPP domain mapping standard (RFC 5731) and used together with the Registry Grace Period extension (RFC 3915). It is set by the registry, not by the registrar, and it signals that the domain is scheduled for deletion.

In the standard gTLD lifecycle, a domain reaches pendingDelete like this:

1. The registration expires and the registrar does not renew it on the owner's behalf.
2. The registrar holds the name during its own grace period, during which it may also sell it in an expiry auction.
3. The registrar sends a delete command to the registry. The domain enters the redemption grace period (redemptionPeriod) for 30 days. Only the previous registrant, through their registrar, can restore it, usually for a significant restore fee.
4. If nobody restores it, the registry moves it to pendingDelete for 5 days.
5. At the end of those 5 days, the registry purges the record and the name is available again.

An Edge Case: Add Grace Deletes

If a registrar deletes a domain within the 5-day add grace period after it was first registered, the registry typically deletes it immediately, without a redemption period. These names do not appear in normal pending delete lists and are mostly irrelevant for expired-domain buyers, because they have no history.

How to Confirm the Status

Run an RDAP lookup at lookup.icann.org or another RDAP client. A domain in this window will show pending delete in its status list, often with a server hold status as well, because names in redemption and pending delete are removed from the DNS and no longer resolve. Lists can be stale; always confirm with RDAP before bidding or backordering.

When .com and .net Names Drop

Verisign deletes .com and .net names in a daily batch. The process generally starts around 2:00 PM US Eastern time and takes roughly an hour, with names released in a sequence over that window rather than all at the same instant. On a typical day, the batch includes tens of thousands of .com names.

• Date, not time, is what lists give you. Pending delete lists group names by expected drop date. The exact second a given name is deleted is not published in advance.
• Drop-catch services fire continuously through the batch. They target each backordered name repeatedly within registry rate limits until it is created or the batch ends.
• Watch in UTC carefully. If the batch is anchored to US Eastern time, its UTC equivalent shifts by an hour when daylight saving time starts and ends. Verify the current timing if you are watching a specific drop.

Other gTLDs

Most gTLDs (.org, .info, many new gTLDs) follow the same lifecycle model of redemption followed by a 5-day pendingDelete, but each registry runs its own delete process at its own time. Coverage at drop-catch services is also uneven: competition for .com and .net is intense, while catches in smaller gTLDs may be less contested.

Where to Get Pending Delete Lists

ExpiredDomains.net

The most widely used free source. Its pending delete section lists deleting names by TLD and drop date, with columns that let you screen quickly: backlinks and referring domains from third-party indexes, Wayback Machine birth year and capture counts, WHOIS creation year, how many other TLDs of the same keyword are registered, and more. It is also where many people first see backorder and bid activity on a name. See our ExpiredDomains.net guide.

Drop-Catch Platform Lists

DropCatch, NameJet and similar services publish their own lists of deleting inventory, often with backorder counts. These are useful because they show the names you can actually place orders on at that platform, and sometimes the level of competition. See Backorders & Drop Catching.

Zone-File-Based Lists

Advanced users and paid list providers build their own lists from registry zone files. Through ICANN's Centralized Zone Data Service (CZDS) you can request access to the zone files of most gTLDs, including .com. Because names in redemption and pending delete are taken out of DNS, comparing zone files day to day shows which names have disappeared from the zone. Confirming each name's status with RDAP then separates genuine deleting names from temporarily held ones.

• Pros: complete, raw data you control, with no third-party filtering
• Cons: large files, requires scripting, RDAP rate limits, and you have to add your own SEO and history data

Paid Tools

Tools like SpamZilla and DomCop combine deleting inventory with SEO metrics and spam filters. They are worth it if you screen at volume. For a comparison, read Free vs. Paid Lists.

Pending Delete vs. Other Expiry Statuses

It helps to know exactly what each status means for a buyer, because lists often mix names from several stages:

For the full step-by-step process across all of these stages, see How to Buy an Expired Domain.

How to Filter a Pending Delete List

A daily .com pending delete list is overwhelmingly made up of names nobody needs: expired hand-registrations, abandoned projects, typos and bulk spam registrations. Filtering is about cutting it down to a shortlist you can actually vet before the drop date.

First-Pass Filters

Second Pass: Manual Review

With a shortlist of a few dozen names, review each by hand before the drop date:

1. Open several Wayback Machine snapshots across the domain's life to confirm what it was. See History & Wayback Machine.
2. Pull the referring domains in Ahrefs or Majestic and read the top linking pages and anchors.
3. Run quick index and brand searches. See Google Index & Penalty Check.
4. Search trademark databases for the core term. See Trademark & Legal Risk.
5. Confirm RDAP still shows pendingDelete and note the expected drop date.

Strategy: Turning the List Into Domains

• Work backward from the drop date. Five days is not long. Filter on day one, vet on days two and three, and place backorders well before drop day.
• Backorder anything contested. If a name shows backorders or auction bids, you will not get it by hand-registering. Place backorders at the services that are most likely to catch it. See Backorders & Drop Catching.
• Check the leftovers. After the drop, some names on your list will not have been caught. Check availability at a normal registrar the same day; uncontested names can often be hand-registered at the standard fee.
• Remember what you can't see. Many valuable names never enter pendingDelete because the registrar sells them in an expiry auction during grace. Use auctions alongside pending delete lists. See Auctions vs. Closeouts vs. Drops.

ccTLDs: Different Rules, Different Timing

Country-code TLDs are run by national registries under their own policies, not under ICANN's gTLD contracts. Many do not use the gTLD-style redemption plus 5-day pendingDelete sequence, do not drop names in a predictable daily batch, and have their own rules about who can recover a name. A few examples, kept general because details change:

• .uk (Nominet): An expired .uk name is typically suspended by its registrar some weeks after expiry and later cancelled by Nominet, roughly 90 days after expiry. Release timing is not a single, fixed daily batch, so lists show approximate dates.
• .de (DENIC): DENIC has its own deletion and recovery rules, separate from the gTLD model, and deleted names are not released in a single, publicly predictable daily batch.
• .nl (SIDN) and .eu (EURid): Cancelled names go into a quarantine period (around 40 days under each registry's rules at the time of writing) during which only the previous holder can reactivate them. After quarantine, the names are released.
• .io, .me, .co and similar: These have their own deletion schedules; specialist services such as Park.io focus on catching them.

Common Pending Delete Mistakes

• Trusting a list without RDAP: Lists lag reality. A name may already have been restored or deleted.
• Assuming you can hand-register at the drop: For anything with demand, drop catchers will be faster.
• Vetting after the backorder: If the backorder succeeds, you own the domain's history.
• Applying gTLD timing to ccTLDs: The 5-day window and afternoon Eastern drop apply to .com and .net, not to every extension.

FAQ

Can a domain in pendingDelete be renewed or restored?

No. Once a gTLD domain reaches pendingDelete after the redemption period, the registry will not accept a renewal or restore request from any registrar. The only outcome is deletion at the end of the window, after which the name is open for registration.

How long does pending delete last?

For .com, .net and most gTLDs that follow the standard lifecycle, pendingDelete lasts 5 days after the 30-day redemption grace period ends. Some registries and most ccTLDs use different periods or different processes entirely.

What time do .com domains drop?

Verisign's daily delete batch for .com and .net generally begins around 2:00 PM US Eastern time and runs for roughly an hour, with names released over that window rather than all at once. Exact timing can vary, so check a current source if you are watching a specific drop.

Can I register a pending delete domain myself when it drops?

Technically yes, but for any name with real demand, specialist drop-catch services will register it within moments of deletion. For contested names, a backorder at one or more drop-catch services is the realistic route. Low-demand names sometimes remain available after the drop and can be hand-registered.

Where can I find a list of pending delete domains?

ExpiredDomains.net publishes free pending delete lists for many TLDs with SEO and history columns, and drop-catch platforms such as DropCatch and NameJet show their own lists of deleting inventory. More advanced users build lists from registry zone file data obtained through ICANN's Centralized Zone Data Service and confirm each name's status via RDAP.