Last week, we announced a number of actions we are taking to support our people and community during the global COVID-19 crisis. Today, we’re pleased to provide more detail about one of those actions, which, with the help of registrars, will make it easier for domain name registrants worldwide to keep their domain names in the midst of this crisis.
Typically, when a domain name registration is deleted by a registrar, there is a period of time – before the name goes back into general availability – during which the person who registered the domain name, the registrant, can pay a one-time restore fee, in addition to the standard registration/renewal fee, to get it back. This helps protect registrants who may have let their domain names lapse accidentally.
From April 2 until June 1, Verisign is waiving this restore fee for .com and .net domain names.
As this crisis expands, we know that domain names continue to be as important as ever to help people stay connected and engaged. By waiving the wholesale restoration fee that we charge to registrars, we are encouraging our registrar partners to do their part to help minimize the negative impact on registrants who may be disrupted by COVID-19.
Ultimately registrars determine the price that registrants of domain names pay to restore deleted domain names, and based on initial feedback we’ve heard from some registrar partners, we are hopeful that by providing registrars with this complete waiver of the wholesale fee, they can extend a full waiver to their customers at the retail level.
We trust that registrars around the world will take advantage of this opportunity to support their customers and communities during this difficult time.
For more details on the steps that Verisign has taken in response to the COVID-19 crisis, please visit our blog, and check back here for updates.
