I purchased a domain on Jan 1 (local time zone), because I really love my domains all renewing on the first day of the year; every year. Yes, I’m completely insane. Not only did I purchase 1 year, but 10 years in advance.
Then I remembered… those get registered under UTC 0, so, for 3 MINUTES, it got registered as Jan 2. It’s driving me insane; I know it sounds crazy, but it truly ruined my day.
Looking into what to do here, I’ve found the “Delete Domain” red button in the console, with this wording:
“Please be sure that you wish to permanently delete the registration. Once the deletion has been confirmed, the domain will no longer resolve and the domain may be immediately available for re-registration by any party.”
Note the “immediately” mention there… it gives me hope that I might get another try in 2026…
Please don’t make fun of me, just would really appreciate if anybody could confirm that, let’s say I delete the domain on December 31, its registration and WHOIS record would be erased right away and I’d be able to purchase it back on Jan 1 2026; again from Cloudflare? I’m willing to let that money I just spent go to waste.
Thanks in advance for any insights you can provide.
Registrar issues require a Registrar ticket with Support
There is a grace period which has to be respected. More about it can be read on the official webpages of the ICANN and TLD registry.
In general, most domain registrars, including Cloudflare, operate under ICANN policies, which typically include a Redemption Grace Period (RGP) for domains.
When you delete a domain, it doesn’t usually become “immediately available” for re-registration. Instead, the domain enters a grace period (usually 30-45 days), during which only the original registrant (you) can restore it, often at an additional cost.
After this period, the domain enters a pending delete status (5-7 days) before becoming available for general registration.
The wording in the “Delete Domain” button can be misleading. While it suggests the domain may be “immediately available,” ICANN rules usually prevent domains from being instantly re-registered by anyone, including you.
If you delete the domain in December 2025, the grace period might extend into early 2026, making it tricky to re-register on January 1, 2026. Timing the deletion perfectly to align with this specific date might not work as expected.
