How to Buy a Domain Permanently (and Why You Can't)

Can you buy a domain name forever?

No. When you "buy" a domain, you get the right to use it for the registration term you paid for. You keep it by renewing before that term ends. Nobody, including the registrar and the registry, sells permanent ownership of a generic top-level domain (gTLD) name.

The limit sits in the contract every gTLD registry signs with ICANN. The base gTLD registry agreement says initial registrations may be made "in one (1) year increments for up to a maximum of ten (10) years", and renewals "may not extend their registration period beyond ten (10) years from the time of the renewal". The .com registry has the same cap, with initial registrations "for terms of up to ten years" and renewals "not to exceed a total of ten years" (.com Registry Agreement, Appendix 7).

So the honest answer to "how to buy a domain permanently" is to register it for as long as the rules allow and then keep renewing. If you renew on time, nothing limits how many years in total you can hold it.

Local registries run country-code domains (ccTLDs) such as .uk or .de under their own rules. If you use one, check that registry's terms.

How to buy a domain permanently, in practice

1. Register for the maximum term

Choose the longest term your registrar offers, up to ten years. Registries must give registrars "the option to obtain initial domain name registrations for periods of one (1) to ten (10) years at the discretion of the registrar" (base registry agreement, section 2.10). Each registrar still decides which terms it sells.

A long term helps in a second way. When a gTLD registry announces a renewal price rise, it must let registrars renew names at the current price for one to ten years before the increase applies (same section). The guide to how much a domain name costs covers renewal pricing in detail.

You can top up later, too. The cap counts the total remaining term, so if you add a year each year, you keep a ten-year buffer in place.

2. Turn on auto-renew

Auto-renew charges your saved payment method before the domain expires. It fails if the card has expired, so update the card when it changes. Turn auto-renew on for every domain you care about, including ones registered for several years.

3. Lock the domain at your registrar

A registrar lock stops someone from moving your domain away without your permission. ICANN describes the clientTransferProhibited status as telling "your domain's registry to reject requests to transfer the domain from your current registrar to another", which helps prevent hijacking and fraud (ICANN EPP status codes). Related statuses block deletion and updates.

Many registrars apply these locks by default. Some registries also offer a stronger Registry Lock through your registrar. A WHOIS lookup shows which statuses a domain has.

4. Keep your contact details current

People forget this step, and it can cost them the domain.

• Accurate details are part of the contract. Under the 2013 Registrar Accreditation Agreement, you must give your registrar accurate contact details and update them within seven days of any change (section 3.7.7.1). If you wilfully give false details, or fail to reply for over 15 days when the registrar asks about them, the registrar can suspend or cancel the domain (section 3.7.7.2).
• Your registrar verifies your email. The RAA's Whois Accuracy Program Specification requires registrars to verify the registrant's email address or phone number within 15 days of a new registration, a transfer or a change of registrant. If you don't respond, the registrar must verify by hand or suspend the domain.
• You get a reminder every year. ICANN's Whois Data Reminder Policy requires registrars, at least once a year, to show you your current registration data and remind you that false data can be grounds for cancellation. Read it and fix anything out of date.

Use an email address that doesn't depend on the domain itself. If the domain expires, email at that domain can stop working, and renewal notices sent there may never reach you.

5. Know what happens if it expires

ICANN's Expired Registration Recovery Policy (ERRP) sets minimum protections for gTLD domains:

Stage	What the policy requires
Before expiry	At least two reminders, about one month and about one week before
Within 5 days after expiry	At least one more notice with renewal instructions, if the name hasn't been renewed or deleted
After expiry, before deletion	For at least the last eight days the name is renewable, its DNS is interrupted, so the website and email stop working; you can still renew
After deletion	Most gTLD registries (not sponsored ones) offer a 30-day Redemption Grace Period in which the registrar can restore the name

Registrars must publish their renewal, post-expiration renewal and redemption fees. The post-expiration and redemption fees can differ from a normal renewal, so check yours. If a domain lapses, contact the registrar at once and ask to renew or restore it. After the Redemption Grace Period ends, the policy gives you no way to get it back.

Premium domains and aftermarket purchases

Two kinds of "buying" cost more than a normal registration. Neither makes the domain permanent.

Registry premium names come first. Registries can mark short or popular names as premium and charge more for them. Under the base registry agreement, renewal prices must normally be the same for all names in a TLD, unless the registrant agreed to higher renewal pricing at registration after clear and conspicuous disclosure (section 2.10(c)). In plain terms, a premium name can renew at a premium price every year. Read the renewal price before you pay.

Aftermarket names are the second kind. If someone already holds a name, you can sometimes buy it from them, usually through a marketplace or broker. You pay the seller once, and the registration then moves to you. After that you renew it like any other domain, at the TLD's normal rate unless it is also a registry premium name. Two ICANN Transfer Policy rules affect these deals:

• After a change of registrant (a material change to the registrant's name, organization or email), the registrar must apply a 60-day lock on moving the domain to another registrar, unless you opted out beforehand.
• The current registrar must give the registrant the AuthInfo (transfer) code within five calendar days of a request.

Use an escrow service or a marketplace that holds payment until the domain lands in your account. When it arrives, set auto-renew, the registrar lock and your own contact details right away.

How to buy a domain step by step

1. Search for the name and check which extensions are free. You can search domains and see live prices on WaseerHost.
2. Check the renewal price as well as the first-year price, and look for a premium flag.
3. Pick the longest term you are comfortable paying for, up to ten years.
4. Enter accurate contact details, with an email address outside the new domain.
5. Confirm the verification email from your registrar as soon as it arrives. Registrars must verify within 15 days and can suspend the domain if you don't respond.
6. Turn on auto-renew and the registrar lock in your account.
7. Set a calendar reminder a few weeks before the expiry date as a backup.

Owning a domain is separate from hosting a website on it. If you're unsure how the two fit together, read domain vs web hosting.