Renewing Shopify-managed domains

If you have a Shopify-managed domain, then you can automatically renew your domain subscription in your Shopify admin. Automatically renewing your domain ensures that your ownership doesn't expire. You don't need to renew your myshopify.com URL.

You can choose whether to activate automatic renewal when you buy a domain through Shopify, or at any time from your Shopify admin. If your domain isn't set to renew automatically, then you need to activate automatic renewal before the end of the registration period to prevent your domain from expiring.

If you want to cancel a Shopify-managed domain, then you can deactivate automatic renewal so that it expires at the end of the registration period.

By default, the Shopify store owner's email address and information are used to purchase and renew domains. Make sure that your email address is up to date so that you receive notifications about your domain subscription.

Note

You need to renew only your root domain. All your subdomains renew automatically with your root domain.

Activate automatic renewal

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Settings > Domains.

2. Click the domain that you want to configure.

3. In the Auto-renew section, select Auto-renew this domain every year.

Your domain renewal is charged automatically on the date listed. To ensure that your domain subscription is successful, the renewal date is 14 days before the end of the registration period. Domain renewals are charged separately from your Shopify plan subscription fees.

Deactivate automatic renewal

If you don't want your domain subscription to renew automatically, or if you want to cancel your Shopify-managed domain, then you can deactivate automatic renewal in your Shopify admin.

Note

If your domain has a .de or .at top-level domain, then the Auto-renew this domain every year setting is automatically activated and can't be manually deactivated from your Shopify admin.

Steps:

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Settings > Domains.

2. Click the domain that you want to configure.

3. In the Auto-renew section, deselect Auto-renew this domain every year.

After you deactivate automatic renewal, your domain expires at the end of the registration period. If you don't want your domain to expire, then you need to activate automatic renewal before the expiry date.

Deactivate automatic renewal for .de and .at domains

Due to German and Austrian regulations, .de and .at domain renewals can't be deactivated from your Shopify admin. If you purchase a .de or .at domain through Shopify, then your domain continues to renew automatically until the corresponding compliance form is processed by Shopify Support.

The form must be completed in full and must exactly match the contact information for your domain to prevent any delays in the deactivation process. You can find your domain contact information in your Shopify admin by following the steps to edit your domain contact information. If you have already cancelled your Shopify subscription, then contact Shopify Support to help confirm your domain's current contact information.

Caution

Automatic renewal for .de and .at domains bought through Shopify are managed by Shopify Support. Don't submit corresponding compliance forms to other domain providers such as OpenSRS, DENIC, nic.at, or ICANN. These third parties can't provide you direct support with the everyday management of your domain.

To avoid renewal charges, we recommend completing and submitting the form to Shopify Support more than 14 days before the end of the current registration period. To avoid renewing a .de or .at domain, the completed form must be submitted to Shopify Support at least 5 days before the domain's scheduled renewal date.

After automatic renewal has been deactivated, your ownership of the domain continues until the end of the current registration period. If you change your mind and want to reactivate automatic renewal, or make any other changes to the domain, then you can during that time.

Deactivate automatic renewal for your .de domain

To deactivate automatic renewal for a .de domain, you need to complete a Domain Termination/Deletion form. The following table shows you how the contact information is displayed in the Shopify admin, corresponding with the fields you'll complete in the form.

How Current Registrant/Holder fields in the Domain Termination/Deletion form correspond to Contact information fields in the Shopify admin.

Current Registrant/Holder field on the Domain Termination/Deletion form	Contact information field in the Shopify admin
Company name	Store name
First name, last name	First name Last name
Street address	Street and house number
City, zip code	City, Postal code
Country	Country/region

Steps:

1. Open the Domain Termination/Deletion form.
2. In the Domain Names for Deletion section, enter the .de root domain(s) you want to deactivate automatic renewal for. Only enter domains with identical contact information. If you want to deactivate automatic renewal for multiple .de domains with different contact information, then you need to complete a separate form for each domain.
3. In the Current Registrant/Holder section, enter the current contact information for the domain(s).
4. In the Confirmation section, read the agreement, and enter your signatory details.
   • In the City, Date field, enter the name of the city you're currently in, and then the day, month, and year for when you're signing the form. Separate the city and date with a ,.
   • In the Name of Signatory field, enter your name as the person who is signing the form.
   • In the Signature and company stamp field, add your handwritten signature. If the domain's ownership is registered to a company with a stamp, then stamp the field as well.
5. Save your completed form in an unmodifiable .pdf or .jpg format.
6. Contact Shopify Support to make your request to deactivate the domain's automatic renewal, and share a copy of your completed form. Shopify Support will review the form to ensure it matches the domain's current ownership, has been properly signed, is in an accepted file format, and cannot be edited.
   • If the form doesn't meet the requirements, then you'll be asked to make the appropriate corrections before re-submitting your request.
   • If the form does meet the requirements, then Shopify Support will begin to process your request, and follow up to notify you when the automatic renewal has been deactivated.

Deactivate automatic renewal for your .at domain

To deactivate automatic renewal for a .at domain, you'll need to complete a Cancellation form. The following table shows you how the contact information is displayed in the Shopify admin, corresponding with the fields you'll complete in the form.

How domain holder fields in the Cancellation form correspond to Contact information fields in the Shopify admin.

Domain holder field on the Cancellation form	Contact information field in the Shopify admin
Name	First name Last name/Store name
Street	Street and house number
Post Code	Postal code
City	City
State	Country/region
Tel. No	Phone
Fax No	Fax number
E-Mail	Email

Steps:

1. Open the Cancellation form.
2. In the section at the top of the form, enter the .at root domain you want to deactivate automatic renewal for. If you have multiple domains you want to deactivate automatic renewal for, then you need to complete a separate form for each domain.
3. In the domain holder section, enter the current contact information for the domain.
   • If your domain's contact information has a Store name, then check the box next to organisation. Only check the box next to private person if you have previously changed the domain's holder type with Shopify Support's assistance.
   • If the domain's ownership is registered to a company with a stamp, then stamp the Company chop box.
4. Below the domain holder section, check the box next to at the end of the current service period.
5. In the signature section, read the agreement, and enter your signature details.
   • In the Name of the signing person (block capitals) field, enter your name in capital letters.
   • In the City, date field, enter the name of the city you're currently in, and then the day, month, and year for when you're signing the form. Separate the city and date with a ,.
   • In the Signature of the Domain Holder or a person authorised to sign for the company field, add your handwritten signature.
6. Save your completed form in an unmodifiable .pdf or .jpg format.
7. Contact Shopify Support to make your request to deactivate the domain's automatic renewal, and share a copy of your completed form. Shopify Support will review the form to ensure it matches the domain's current ownership, has been properly signed, is in an accepted file format, and cannot be edited.
   • If the form doesn't meet the requirements, then you'll be asked to make the appropriate corrections before re-submitting your request.
   • If the form does meet the requirements, then Shopify Support will begin to process your request, and follow up to notify you when the automatic renewal has been deactivated.

Immediate cancellation requests for .de and .at domains

OpenSRS's policies for processing requests to immediately delete ownership of .de and .at domains require that the domain be in violation of either policies that govern domain management or local legislation. If your domain is currently active and in good standing, then a request to immediately cancel domain ownership instead of deactivating automatic renewal will be declined by Shopify Support.

If you have found a .de and .at domain that is in violation of Shopify's Policies, then you can find next steps for reporting the violation in our compliance instructions. If the domain is in violation of third-party policies, then you can use Shopify's Domain Lookup Tool to find the appropriate abuse contact.

Renew an expired domain

Note

Some domains don't have a 40-day grace period, and the domains either have a shorter grace period or they enter the redemption period immediately after expiry. Refer to the OpenSRS TLD Reference Chart for information about specific domains.

If your domain subscription expires, and you want to keep using your domain, then you have a 40-day grace period for most domains to contact Shopify Support to renew it. You can't renew an expired domain without contacting Shopify Support.

If you don't renew an expired domain during the grace period, then you might be able to renew it during the redemption period by contacting Shopify Support. The redemption period lasts up to 30 days after the grace period. There are additional costs associated with renewing a domain during the redemption period.

If your domain isn't renewed by the end of the redemption period, then it's deleted from the registry. Your domain might be available to buy again through Shopify or from a third-party domain provider, but there is no guarantee that the domain will be available for purchase. If you want to keep the domain, then review your domain expirations dates and ensure that you're renewing your domains ahead of those expiration dates. You can also activate automatic renewal.