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27 Registration Life Cycle

gTLDFull Legal NameE-mail suffixDetail
.tubeBoss Castle, LLCdonuts.coView
Q27 CHAR: 19951

1.0. INTRODUCTION
To say that the lifecycle of a domain name is complex would be an understatement. A domain name can traverse many states throughout its lifetime and there are many and varied triggers that can cause a state transition. Some states are triggered simply by the passage of time. Others are triggered by an explicit action taken by the registrant or registrar. Understanding these is critical to the proper operation of a gTLD registry. To complicate matters further, a domain name can contain one or more statuses. These are set by the registrar or registry and have a variety of uses.

When this text discusses EPP commands received from registrars, with the exception of a transfer request, the reader can assume that the command is received from the sponsoring registrar and successfully processed. The transfer request originates from the potential gaining registrar. Transfer details are explicit for clarity.

2.0. INDUSTRY STANDARDS
The registration life cycle approach for our gTLD follows industry standards for registration lifecycles and registration statuses. By implementing a registration life cycle that adheres to these standards, we avoid compounding an already confusing topic for registrants. In addition, since registrar systems are already designed to manage domain names in a standard way, a standardized registration lifecycle also lowers the barrier to entry for registrars.

The registration lifecycle for our gTLD follows core EPP RFCs including RFC 5730 and RFC 5731 and associated documentation of lifecycle information. To protect registrants, EPP Grace Period Mapping for domain registrations is implemented, which affects the registration lifecycle and domain status. EPP Grace Period Mapping is documented in RFC 3915.

3.0. REGISTRATION STATES
For a visual guide to this registration lifecycle discussion, please refer to the attachment, Registration Lifecycle Illustrations. Please note that this text makes many references to the status of a domain. For brevity, we do not distinguish between the domain mapping status 〈domain:status〉 and the EPP Grace Period Mapping status 〈rgp:rgpStatus〉 as making this differentiation in every case would make this document more difficult to read and in this context does not improve understanding.

4.0. AVAILABILITY
The lifecycle for any domain registration begins with the Available state. This is not necessarily a registration state, per se, but indicates the lack of domain registration implied and provides an entry and terminal point for the state diagram provided. In addition to the state diagram, please refer to Fig. 2 – Availability Check for visual representation of the process flow.

Before a user can register a new domain name, the registry performs an availability check. Possible outcomes of this availability check include:
1. Domain name is available for registration.
2. Domain name is already registered, regardless of the current state and not available for registration.
3. Domain name has been reserved by the registry.
4. Domain name string has been blocked because of a trademark claim.

5.0. INITIAL REGISTRATION
The first step in domain registration is the availability check as described above and shown in Fig. 2 – Availability Check. A visual guide to the description for domain registration in this section can be found in Fig. 3 – Domain Registration. If the domain is available for registration, a registrar submits a registration request.

With this request, the registrar can include zero or more nameserver hosts for zone delegation. If the registrar includes zero or one nameserver host(s), the domain is registered but the EPP status of the domain is set to inactive. If the registrar includes two or more, the EPP status of the domain is set to ok.

The request may also include a registration period (the number of years the registrar would like the domain registered). If this time period is omitted, the registry may use a default initial registration period. The policy for this aligns with the industry standard of one year as the default period. If the registrar includes a registration period, the value must be between one and ten years as specified in the gTLD Registry Agreement.

Once the registration process is complete within the registry, the domain registration is considered to be in the REGISTERED state but within the Add Grace Period.


6.0. REGISTERED STATE - ADD GRACE PERIOD
The Add Grace Period is a status given to a new domain registration. The EPP status applied in this state is addPeriod. The Add Grace Period is a state in which the registrar is eligible for a refund of the registration price should the registration be deleted while this status is applied. The status is removed and the registration transitions from the Add Grace Period either by an explicit delete request from the registrar or by the lapse of five days. This is illustrated in Fig. 1 and Fig. 3 of the illustrations attachment.

If the registrar deletes the domain during the Add Grace Period, the domain becomes immediately available for registration. The registrar is refunded the original cost of the registration.

If the five-day period lapses without receiving a successful delete command, the addPeriod status is removed from the domain.


7.0. REGISTERED STATE
A domain registration spends most of its time in the REGISTERED state. A domain registration period can initially be between one year and ten years in one-year increments as specified in the new gTLD Registry Agreement. At any time during the registration’s term, several things can occur to either affect the registration period or transition the registration to another state. The first three are the auto-renew process, an explicit renew EPP request and a successful completion of the transfer process.

8.0. REGISTRATION PERIOD EXTENSION
The registration period for a domain is extended either through a successful renew request by the registrar, through the successful completion of the transfer process or through the auto-renew process. This section discusses each of these three options.

8.1. EXTENSION VIA RENEW REQUEST
One way that a registrar can extend the registration period is by issuing a renew request. Each renew request includes the number of years desired for extension of the registration up to ten years. Please refer to the flow charts found in both Fig. 4 – Renewal and Fig. 5 – Renewal Grace Period for a visual representation of the following.

Because the registration period cannot extend beyond ten years, any request for a registration period beyond ten years fails. The domain must not contain the status renewProhibited. If this status exists on the domain, the request for a renewal fails.

Upon a successful renew request, the registry adds the renewPeriod status to the domain. This status remains on the domain for a period of five days. The number of years in the renew request is added to the total registration period of the domain. The registrar is charged for each year of the additional period.

While the domain has the renewPeriod status, if the sponsoring registrar issues a successful delete request, the registrar receives a credit for the renewal. The renewPeriod status is removed and the domain enters the Redemption Grace Period (RGP) state. The status redemptionPeriod is added to the status of the domain.

8.2. EXTENSION VIA TRANSFER PROCESS
The second way to extend the registration is through the Request Transfer process. A registrar may transfer sponsorship of a domain name to another registrar. The exact details of a transfer are explained in the Request Transfer section below. The successful completion of the Request Transfer process automatically extends the registration for one year. The registrar is not charged separately for the addition of the year; it comes automatically with the successful transfer. The transferPeriod status is added to the domain.

If the gaining registrar issues a successful delete request during the transferPeriod, the gaining registrar receives a credit for the transfer. The status redemptionPeriod is added to the status of the domain and transferPeriod is removed. The domain then enters the RGP state.


8.3. EXTENSION VIA AUTO-RENEW
The last way a registration period can be extended is passive and is the simplest way because it occurs without any action by the Registrar. When the registration period expires, for the convenience of the registrar and registrant, the registration renews automatically for one year. The registrar is charged for the renewal at this time. This begins the Auto Renew Grace Period. The autoRenewPeriod status is added to the domain to represent this period.

The Auto Renew Grace Period lasts for 45 days. At any time during this period, the Registrar can do one of four things: 1) passively accept the renewal; 2) actively renew (to adjust renewal options); 3) delete the registration; or 4) transfer the registration.

To passively accept the renewal, the registrar need only allow the 45-day time span to pass for the registration to move out of the Auto Renew Grace Period.

Should the registrar wish to adjust the renewal period in any way, the registrar can submit a renew request via EPP to extend the registration period up to a maximum of ten years. If the renew request is for a single year, the registrar is not charged. If the renew request is for more than a single year, the registrar is charged for the additional years that the registration period was extended. If the command is a success, the autoRenewPeriod status is removed from the domain.

Should the registrar wish to delete the registration, the registrar can submit a delete command via EPP. Once a delete request is received, the autoRenewPeriod status is removed from the domain and the redemptionPeriod status is added. The registrar is credited for the renewal fees. For illustration of this process, please refer to Fig. 6 – Auto Renew Grace Period.

The last way move a domain registration out of the Auto Renew state is by successful completion of the Request Transfer process, as described in the following section. If the transfer completes successfully, the autoRenewPeriod status is removed and the transferPeriod status is added.

9.0. REQUEST TRANSFER

A customer can change the sponsoring registrar of a domain registration through the Request Transfer process. This process is an asynchronous, multi-step process that can take many as five days but may occur faster, depending on the level of support from participating Registrars.

The initiation of the transfer process is illustrated in Fig. 8 – Request Transfer. The transfer process begins with a registrar submitting a transfer request. To succeed, the request must meet several criteria. First, the domain status must not contain transferProhibited or pendingTransfer. Second, the initial domain registration must be at least 60 days old or, if transferred prior to the current transfer request, must not have been transferred within the last 60 days. Lastly, the transfer request must contain the correct authInfo (authorization information) value. If all of these criteria are met, the transfer request succeeds and the domain moves into the Pending Transfer state and the pendingTransfer status is added to the domain.

There are four ways to complete the transfer (and move it out of Pending Transfer status):
1. The transfer is auto-approved.
2. The losing registrar approves the transfer.
3. The losing registrar rejects the transfer.
4. The requesting registrar cancels the transfer.

After a successful transfer request, the domain continues to have the pendingTransfer status for up to five days. During this time, if no other action is taken by either registrar, the domain successfully completes the transfer process and the requesting registrar becomes the new sponsor of the domain registration. This is illustrated in Fig. 9 – Auto Approve Transfer.

At any time during the Pending Transfer state, either the gaining or losing registrar can request the status of a transfer provided they have the correct domain authInfo. Querying for the status of a transfer is illustrated in Fig. 13 – Query Transfer.

During the five-day Pending Transfer state, the losing registrar can accelerate the process by explicitly accepting or rejecting the transfer. If the losing registrar takes either of these actions, the pendingTransfer status is removed. Both of these actions are illustrated in Fig. 10 – Approve Transfer and Fig. 11 – Reject Transfer.

During the five-day Pending Transfer state, the requesting registrar may cancel the transfer request. If the registrar sends a cancel transfer request, the pendingTransfer status is removed. This is shown in Fig. 12 – Cancel Transfer.

If the transfer process is a success, the registry adds the transferPeriod status and removes the pendingTransfer status. If the domain was in the Renew Period state, upon successful completion of the transfer process, this status is removed.

The transferPeriod status remains on the domain for five days. This is illustrated in Fig. 14 – Transfer Grace Period. During this period, the gaining Registrar may delete the domain and obtain a credit for the transfer fees. If the gaining registrar issues a successful delete request during the transferPeriod, the gaining registrar receives a credit for the transfer. The status redemptionPeriod is added to the status of the domain and transferPeriod is removed. The domain then enters the RGP state.


10.0. REDEMPTION GRACE PERIOD
The Redemption Grace Period (RGP) is a service provided by the registry for the benefit of registrars and registrants. The RGP allows a registrar to recover a deleted domain registration. The only way to enter the RGP is through a delete command sent by the sponsoring registrar. A domain in RGP always contains a status of redemptionPeriod. For an illustrated logical flow diagram of this, please refer to Fig. 15 – Redemption Grace Period.

The RGP lasts for 30 days. During this time, the sponsoring registrar may recover the domain through a two-step process. The first step is to send a successful restore command to the registry. The second step is to send a restore report to the registry.

Once the restore command is processed, the registry adds the domain status of pendingRestore to the domain. The domain is now in the Pending Restore state, which lasts for seven days. During this time, the registry waits for the restore report from the Registrar. If the restore report is not received within seven days, the domain transitions back to the RGP state. If the restore report is successfully processed by the registry, the domain registration is restored back to the REGISTERED state. The statuses of pendingRestore and redemptionPeriod are removed from the domain.

After 30 days in RGP, the domain transitions to the Pending Delete state. A status of pendingDelete is applied to the domain and all other statuses are removed. This state lasts for five days and is considered a quiet period for the domain. No commands or other activity can be applied for the domain while it is in this state. Once the five days lapse, the domain is again available for registration.

11.0. DELETE
To delete a domain registration, the sponsoring registrar must send a delete request to the registry. If the domain is in the Add Grace Period, deletion occurs immediately. In all other cases, the deleted domain transitions to the RGP. For a detailed visual diagram of the delete process flow, please refer to Fig. 7 – Delete.

For domain registration deletion to occur successfully, the registry must first ensure the domain is eligible for deletion by conducting two checks. The registry first checks to verify that the requesting registrar is also the sponsoring registrar. If this is not the case, the registrar receives an error message.

The registry then checks the various domain statuses for any restrictions that might prevent deletion. If the domain’s status includes either the transferPending or deleteProhibited, the name is not deleted and an error is returned to the registrar.

If the domain is in the Add Grace Period, the domain is immediately deleted and any registration fees paid are credited back to the registrar. The domain is immediately available for registration.

If the domain is in the Renew Grace Period, the Transfer Grace Period or the Auto Renew Grace Period, the respective renewPeriod, transferPeriod or autoRenewPeriod statuses are removed and the corresponding fees are credited to the Registrar. The domain then moves to the RGP as described above.

12.0. ADDITIONAL STATUSES
There are additional statuses that the registry or registrar can apply to a domain registration to limit what actions can be taken on it or to limit its usefulness. This section addresses such statuses that have not already addressed in this response.

Some statuses are applied by the registrar and others are exclusively applied by the registry. Registry-applied statuses cannot be altered by registrars. Status names that registrars can add or remove begin with “client”. Status names that only the registry can add or remove begin with “server”. These statuses can be applied by a registrar using the EPP domain update request as defined in RFC 5731.

To prevent a domain registration from being deleted, the status values of clientDeleteProhibited or serverDeleteProhibited may be applied by the appropriate party.

To withhold delegation of the domain to the DNS, clientHold or serverHold is applied. This prevents the domain name from being published to the zone file. If it is already published, the domain name is removed from the zone file.

To prevent renewal of the domain registration clientRenewProhibited or serverRenewProhibited is applied by the appropriate party.

To prevent the transfer of sponsorship of a registration, the states clientTransferProhibited or serverTransferProhibited is applied to the domain. When this is done, all requests for transfer are rejected by the registry.

If a domain registration contains no host objects, the registry applies the status of inactive. Since there are no host objects associated with the domain, by definition, it cannot be published to the zone. The inactive status cannot be applied by registrars.

If a domain has no prohibitions, restrictions or pending operations and the domain also contains sufficient host object references for zone publication, the registry assigns the status of ok if there is no other status set.

There are a few statuses defined by the domain mapping RFC 5731 that our registry does not use. These statuses are: pendingCreate, pendingRenew and pendingUpdate. RFC 5731 also defines some status combinations that are invalid. We acknowledge these and our registry system disallows these combinations.

13.0. RESOURCING
Software Engineering:
- Existing Department Personnel: Project Manager, Development Manager, two Sr. Software Engineers, Sr. Database Engineer, Quality Assurance Engineer
- New Hires: Web Developer, Database Engineer, Technical Writer, Build⁄Deployment Engineer
Systems Engineering:
- Existing Department Personnel: Sr. Director IT Operations, 2 Sr. Systems Administrators, 2 Systems Administrators, 2 Sr. Systems Engineers, 2 Systems Engineers
- New Hires: Systems Engineer
Network Engineering:
- Existing Department Personnel: Sr. Director IT Operations, two Sr. Network Engineers, 2 Network Engineers
- New Hires: Network Engineer
Database Operations:
- Existing Department Personnel: Sr. Database Operations Manager, 2 Database Administrators
Network Operations Center:
- Existing Department Personnel: Manager, 2 NOC Supervisors, 12 NOC Analysts
- New Hires: Eight NOC Analysts
gTLDFull Legal NameE-mail suffixDetail
.townKoko Moon, LLCdonuts.coView
Q27 CHAR: 19951

1.0. INTRODUCTION
To say that the lifecycle of a domain name is complex would be an understatement. A domain name can traverse many states throughout its lifetime and there are many and varied triggers that can cause a state transition. Some states are triggered simply by the passage of time. Others are triggered by an explicit action taken by the registrant or registrar. Understanding these is critical to the proper operation of a gTLD registry. To complicate matters further, a domain name can contain one or more statuses. These are set by the registrar or registry and have a variety of uses.

When this text discusses EPP commands received from registrars, with the exception of a transfer request, the reader can assume that the command is received from the sponsoring registrar and successfully processed. The transfer request originates from the potential gaining registrar. Transfer details are explicit for clarity.

2.0. INDUSTRY STANDARDS
The registration life cycle approach for our gTLD follows industry standards for registration lifecycles and registration statuses. By implementing a registration life cycle that adheres to these standards, we avoid compounding an already confusing topic for registrants. In addition, since registrar systems are already designed to manage domain names in a standard way, a standardized registration lifecycle also lowers the barrier to entry for registrars.

The registration lifecycle for our gTLD follows core EPP RFCs including RFC 5730 and RFC 5731 and associated documentation of lifecycle information. To protect registrants, EPP Grace Period Mapping for domain registrations is implemented, which affects the registration lifecycle and domain status. EPP Grace Period Mapping is documented in RFC 3915.

3.0. REGISTRATION STATES
For a visual guide to this registration lifecycle discussion, please refer to the attachment, Registration Lifecycle Illustrations. Please note that this text makes many references to the status of a domain. For brevity, we do not distinguish between the domain mapping status 〈domain:status〉 and the EPP Grace Period Mapping status 〈rgp:rgpStatus〉 as making this differentiation in every case would make this document more difficult to read and in this context does not improve understanding.

4.0. AVAILABILITY
The lifecycle for any domain registration begins with the Available state. This is not necessarily a registration state, per se, but indicates the lack of domain registration implied and provides an entry and terminal point for the state diagram provided. In addition to the state diagram, please refer to Fig. 2 – Availability Check for visual representation of the process flow.

Before a user can register a new domain name, the registry performs an availability check. Possible outcomes of this availability check include:
1. Domain name is available for registration.
2. Domain name is already registered, regardless of the current state and not available for registration.
3. Domain name has been reserved by the registry.
4. Domain name string has been blocked because of a trademark claim.

5.0. INITIAL REGISTRATION
The first step in domain registration is the availability check as described above and shown in Fig. 2 – Availability Check. A visual guide to the description for domain registration in this section can be found in Fig. 3 – Domain Registration. If the domain is available for registration, a registrar submits a registration request.

With this request, the registrar can include zero or more nameserver hosts for zone delegation. If the registrar includes zero or one nameserver host(s), the domain is registered but the EPP status of the domain is set to inactive. If the registrar includes two or more, the EPP status of the domain is set to ok.

The request may also include a registration period (the number of years the registrar would like the domain registered). If this time period is omitted, the registry may use a default initial registration period. The policy for this aligns with the industry standard of one year as the default period. If the registrar includes a registration period, the value must be between one and ten years as specified in the gTLD Registry Agreement.

Once the registration process is complete within the registry, the domain registration is considered to be in the REGISTERED state but within the Add Grace Period.


6.0. REGISTERED STATE - ADD GRACE PERIOD
The Add Grace Period is a status given to a new domain registration. The EPP status applied in this state is addPeriod. The Add Grace Period is a state in which the registrar is eligible for a refund of the registration price should the registration be deleted while this status is applied. The status is removed and the registration transitions from the Add Grace Period either by an explicit delete request from the registrar or by the lapse of five days. This is illustrated in Fig. 1 and Fig. 3 of the illustrations attachment.

If the registrar deletes the domain during the Add Grace Period, the domain becomes immediately available for registration. The registrar is refunded the original cost of the registration.

If the five-day period lapses without receiving a successful delete command, the addPeriod status is removed from the domain.


7.0. REGISTERED STATE
A domain registration spends most of its time in the REGISTERED state. A domain registration period can initially be between one year and ten years in one-year increments as specified in the new gTLD Registry Agreement. At any time during the registration’s term, several things can occur to either affect the registration period or transition the registration to another state. The first three are the auto-renew process, an explicit renew EPP request and a successful completion of the transfer process.

8.0. REGISTRATION PERIOD EXTENSION
The registration period for a domain is extended either through a successful renew request by the registrar, through the successful completion of the transfer process or through the auto-renew process. This section discusses each of these three options.

8.1. EXTENSION VIA RENEW REQUEST
One way that a registrar can extend the registration period is by issuing a renew request. Each renew request includes the number of years desired for extension of the registration up to ten years. Please refer to the flow charts found in both Fig. 4 – Renewal and Fig. 5 – Renewal Grace Period for a visual representation of the following.

Because the registration period cannot extend beyond ten years, any request for a registration period beyond ten years fails. The domain must not contain the status renewProhibited. If this status exists on the domain, the request for a renewal fails.

Upon a successful renew request, the registry adds the renewPeriod status to the domain. This status remains on the domain for a period of five days. The number of years in the renew request is added to the total registration period of the domain. The registrar is charged for each year of the additional period.

While the domain has the renewPeriod status, if the sponsoring registrar issues a successful delete request, the registrar receives a credit for the renewal. The renewPeriod status is removed and the domain enters the Redemption Grace Period (RGP) state. The status redemptionPeriod is added to the status of the domain.

8.2. EXTENSION VIA TRANSFER PROCESS
The second way to extend the registration is through the Request Transfer process. A registrar may transfer sponsorship of a domain name to another registrar. The exact details of a transfer are explained in the Request Transfer section below. The successful completion of the Request Transfer process automatically extends the registration for one year. The registrar is not charged separately for the addition of the year; it comes automatically with the successful transfer. The transferPeriod status is added to the domain.

If the gaining registrar issues a successful delete request during the transferPeriod, the gaining registrar receives a credit for the transfer. The status redemptionPeriod is added to the status of the domain and transferPeriod is removed. The domain then enters the RGP state.


8.3. EXTENSION VIA AUTO-RENEW
The last way a registration period can be extended is passive and is the simplest way because it occurs without any action by the Registrar. When the registration period expires, for the convenience of the registrar and registrant, the registration renews automatically for one year. The registrar is charged for the renewal at this time. This begins the Auto Renew Grace Period. The autoRenewPeriod status is added to the domain to represent this period.

The Auto Renew Grace Period lasts for 45 days. At any time during this period, the Registrar can do one of four things: 1) passively accept the renewal; 2) actively renew (to adjust renewal options); 3) delete the registration; or 4) transfer the registration.

To passively accept the renewal, the registrar need only allow the 45-day time span to pass for the registration to move out of the Auto Renew Grace Period.

Should the registrar wish to adjust the renewal period in any way, the registrar can submit a renew request via EPP to extend the registration period up to a maximum of ten years. If the renew request is for a single year, the registrar is not charged. If the renew request is for more than a single year, the registrar is charged for the additional years that the registration period was extended. If the command is a success, the autoRenewPeriod status is removed from the domain.

Should the registrar wish to delete the registration, the registrar can submit a delete command via EPP. Once a delete request is received, the autoRenewPeriod status is removed from the domain and the redemptionPeriod status is added. The registrar is credited for the renewal fees. For illustration of this process, please refer to Fig. 6 – Auto Renew Grace Period.

The last way move a domain registration out of the Auto Renew state is by successful completion of the Request Transfer process, as described in the following section. If the transfer completes successfully, the autoRenewPeriod status is removed and the transferPeriod status is added.

9.0. REQUEST TRANSFER

A customer can change the sponsoring registrar of a domain registration through the Request Transfer process. This process is an asynchronous, multi-step process that can take many as five days but may occur faster, depending on the level of support from participating Registrars.

The initiation of the transfer process is illustrated in Fig. 8 – Request Transfer. The transfer process begins with a registrar submitting a transfer request. To succeed, the request must meet several criteria. First, the domain status must not contain transferProhibited or pendingTransfer. Second, the initial domain registration must be at least 60 days old or, if transferred prior to the current transfer request, must not have been transferred within the last 60 days. Lastly, the transfer request must contain the correct authInfo (authorization information) value. If all of these criteria are met, the transfer request succeeds and the domain moves into the Pending Transfer state and the pendingTransfer status is added to the domain.

There are four ways to complete the transfer (and move it out of Pending Transfer status):
1. The transfer is auto-approved.
2. The losing registrar approves the transfer.
3. The losing registrar rejects the transfer.
4. The requesting registrar cancels the transfer.

After a successful transfer request, the domain continues to have the pendingTransfer status for up to five days. During this time, if no other action is taken by either registrar, the domain successfully completes the transfer process and the requesting registrar becomes the new sponsor of the domain registration. This is illustrated in Fig. 9 – Auto Approve Transfer.

At any time during the Pending Transfer state, either the gaining or losing registrar can request the status of a transfer provided they have the correct domain authInfo. Querying for the status of a transfer is illustrated in Fig. 13 – Query Transfer.

During the five-day Pending Transfer state, the losing registrar can accelerate the process by explicitly accepting or rejecting the transfer. If the losing registrar takes either of these actions, the pendingTransfer status is removed. Both of these actions are illustrated in Fig. 10 – Approve Transfer and Fig. 11 – Reject Transfer.

During the five-day Pending Transfer state, the requesting registrar may cancel the transfer request. If the registrar sends a cancel transfer request, the pendingTransfer status is removed. This is shown in Fig. 12 – Cancel Transfer.

If the transfer process is a success, the registry adds the transferPeriod status and removes the pendingTransfer status. If the domain was in the Renew Period state, upon successful completion of the transfer process, this status is removed.

The transferPeriod status remains on the domain for five days. This is illustrated in Fig. 14 – Transfer Grace Period. During this period, the gaining Registrar may delete the domain and obtain a credit for the transfer fees. If the gaining registrar issues a successful delete request during the transferPeriod, the gaining registrar receives a credit for the transfer. The status redemptionPeriod is added to the status of the domain and transferPeriod is removed. The domain then enters the RGP state.


10.0. REDEMPTION GRACE PERIOD
The Redemption Grace Period (RGP) is a service provided by the registry for the benefit of registrars and registrants. The RGP allows a registrar to recover a deleted domain registration. The only way to enter the RGP is through a delete command sent by the sponsoring registrar. A domain in RGP always contains a status of redemptionPeriod. For an illustrated logical flow diagram of this, please refer to Fig. 15 – Redemption Grace Period.

The RGP lasts for 30 days. During this time, the sponsoring registrar may recover the domain through a two-step process. The first step is to send a successful restore command to the registry. The second step is to send a restore report to the registry.

Once the restore command is processed, the registry adds the domain status of pendingRestore to the domain. The domain is now in the Pending Restore state, which lasts for seven days. During this time, the registry waits for the restore report from the Registrar. If the restore report is not received within seven days, the domain transitions back to the RGP state. If the restore report is successfully processed by the registry, the domain registration is restored back to the REGISTERED state. The statuses of pendingRestore and redemptionPeriod are removed from the domain.

After 30 days in RGP, the domain transitions to the Pending Delete state. A status of pendingDelete is applied to the domain and all other statuses are removed. This state lasts for five days and is considered a quiet period for the domain. No commands or other activity can be applied for the domain while it is in this state. Once the five days lapse, the domain is again available for registration.

11.0. DELETE
To delete a domain registration, the sponsoring registrar must send a delete request to the registry. If the domain is in the Add Grace Period, deletion occurs immediately. In all other cases, the deleted domain transitions to the RGP. For a detailed visual diagram of the delete process flow, please refer to Fig. 7 – Delete.

For domain registration deletion to occur successfully, the registry must first ensure the domain is eligible for deletion by conducting two checks. The registry first checks to verify that the requesting registrar is also the sponsoring registrar. If this is not the case, the registrar receives an error message.

The registry then checks the various domain statuses for any restrictions that might prevent deletion. If the domain’s status includes either the transferPending or deleteProhibited, the name is not deleted and an error is returned to the registrar.

If the domain is in the Add Grace Period, the domain is immediately deleted and any registration fees paid are credited back to the registrar. The domain is immediately available for registration.

If the domain is in the Renew Grace Period, the Transfer Grace Period or the Auto Renew Grace Period, the respective renewPeriod, transferPeriod or autoRenewPeriod statuses are removed and the corresponding fees are credited to the Registrar. The domain then moves to the RGP as described above.

12.0. ADDITIONAL STATUSES
There are additional statuses that the registry or registrar can apply to a domain registration to limit what actions can be taken on it or to limit its usefulness. This section addresses such statuses that have not already addressed in this response.

Some statuses are applied by the registrar and others are exclusively applied by the registry. Registry-applied statuses cannot be altered by registrars. Status names that registrars can add or remove begin with “client”. Status names that only the registry can add or remove begin with “server”. These statuses can be applied by a registrar using the EPP domain update request as defined in RFC 5731.

To prevent a domain registration from being deleted, the status values of clientDeleteProhibited or serverDeleteProhibited may be applied by the appropriate party.

To withhold delegation of the domain to the DNS, clientHold or serverHold is applied. This prevents the domain name from being published to the zone file. If it is already published, the domain name is removed from the zone file.

To prevent renewal of the domain registration clientRenewProhibited or serverRenewProhibited is applied by the appropriate party.

To prevent the transfer of sponsorship of a registration, the states clientTransferProhibited or serverTransferProhibited is applied to the domain. When this is done, all requests for transfer are rejected by the registry.

If a domain registration contains no host objects, the registry applies the status of inactive. Since there are no host objects associated with the domain, by definition, it cannot be published to the zone. The inactive status cannot be applied by registrars.

If a domain has no prohibitions, restrictions or pending operations and the domain also contains sufficient host object references for zone publication, the registry assigns the status of ok if there is no other status set.

There are a few statuses defined by the domain mapping RFC 5731 that our registry does not use. These statuses are: pendingCreate, pendingRenew and pendingUpdate. RFC 5731 also defines some status combinations that are invalid. We acknowledge these and our registry system disallows these combinations.

13.0. RESOURCING
Software Engineering:
- Existing Department Personnel: Project Manager, Development Manager, two Sr. Software Engineers, Sr. Database Engineer, Quality Assurance Engineer
- New Hires: Web Developer, Database Engineer, Technical Writer, Build⁄Deployment Engineer
Systems Engineering:
- Existing Department Personnel: Sr. Director IT Operations, 2 Sr. Systems Administrators, 2 Systems Administrators, 2 Sr. Systems Engineers, 2 Systems Engineers
- New Hires: Systems Engineer
Network Engineering:
- Existing Department Personnel: Sr. Director IT Operations, two Sr. Network Engineers, 2 Network Engineers
- New Hires: Network Engineer
Database Operations:
- Existing Department Personnel: Sr. Database Operations Manager, 2 Database Administrators
Network Operations Center:
- Existing Department Personnel: Manager, 2 NOC Supervisors, 12 NOC Analysts
- New Hires: Eight NOC Analysts