What it checks
We look up the registrable domain in RDAP, the registry protocol that replaced WHOIS, starting from IANA's bootstrap file to find the right registry, and read the expiration event. Some registries do not publish it, and some top-level domains have no RDAP service at all; we say so rather than guess.
Why it matters for search engines
An expired domain stops resolving. After the registrar's grace period the name can be bought by anyone, and a site that has moved to a new owner loses its history, its links and its ranking with it.
Why it matters for AI assistants
Every crawler and every assistant reaches a site through its name. There is no partial failure mode for an expired domain.
How to fix it
Renew at the registrar and turn on auto-renew with a payment method that will still be valid next year. For a client's domain, confirm who the registrant contact is and that their email still works; ICANN's policy requires registrars to send expiration notices to that address.
theguardian.com is registered for 281 more days, until 2027-07-05.Check one page right now, no account: the free domain and SSL expiry checker.
What quietwatch reports
ok with days remaining and the date. warn under 30 days, fail under 7 or when the registration has lapsed. unknown when the registry does not publish the date, has no RDAP service, or did not answer.
Sources
- ICANN, Expired Registration Recovery Policy
- RFC 9083, JSON Responses for the Registration Data Access Protocol (RDAP)
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