If you have decided that you no longer wish to use your domain and want to cancel future renewals, simply notify us by email. The easiest way is to reply to the domain renewal reminder we send you.
Cancelling the renewal is free of charge, but it is important to understand what happens after a domain expires and the risks associated with giving it up.
International domains
A domain first expires on the date until which it was registered. For many international domains, this is followed by a period during which the previous owner can still renew it at the standard or a slightly increased price (at Adriahost, the standard renewal price applies). This period usually lasts around 30 days, although the exact timeframe depends on the domain extension and registry.
After that, the domain may enter the so-called redemption period. During this period, the previous owner can still recover it, but at a significantly higher price. The domain is not yet available for public registration at this stage.
If the domain is not renewed during the redemption period, it enters the final deletion phase, after which it becomes available again. At that point, anyone can register it at the standard price or at a special price if the registrar classifies it as a premium domain.
Serbian national domains (.rs, .co.rs, .edu.rs and others)
A Serbian national domain expires on the date until which it was registered. After expiration, there is a 30-day period during which the previous owner can renew it.
If the domain is not renewed within this period, it is deleted from the registry and becomes available for registration again. From that moment, anyone can register it.
Your former domain could end up in the wrong hands
Some companies and individuals specifically monitor expiring domains and register them as soon as they become available again. They are particularly interested in older domains that already receive traffic, have backlinks from other websites, or have established authority with search engines.
The new owner may use the domain’s existing popularity to promote entirely unrelated content. Such domains sometimes end up hosting adult content, gambling websites, questionable products, or scams.
If your clients, business partners, friends, or family members later visit your former domain, they may find content that has nothing to do with you but still associate it with your former website or business. This can be unpleasant and damaging to your reputation.
Misuse of email addresses and account takeover
An even more serious risk is the potential misuse of email addresses associated with an abandoned domain.
For example, if you created an account on a social network or another service using the address name@yourdomain.rs, the domain’s new owner could recreate the same email address. They could then attempt to reset the password and gain access to your account.
The same risk applies to online stores, cloud services, business applications, financial services, and other accounts where the old email address remains registered as a contact or account recovery address.
Before giving up your domain, check where you have used email addresses associated with it. Update them on all important accounts and remove them from sign-in, password recovery, and identity verification settings.
