Drop Time: what is it and how does it work?

In the previous article, the main validity and expiration states of a .it domain were explained and in this article, however, I will delve into the Drop Time mechanism, a process that occurs after the ending delete / pending delete state.

I will briefly summarize the main statuses (in my opinion) of the it domain, the first two refer to active domains, the second to expired ones:

pending delete / redemption period

pending delete / pending delete

As we have seen, .it domains, upon expiry, pass into the ok / autorenew period (10-day grace period in which renewal has no additional costs) and subsequently, in the absence of renewal, the status passes to pending delete / redemption period.

The pending delete / redemption period status lasts 30 days and the only operations allowed in this period are the recovery and renewal of the domain by the current Registrar. In the absence of any operation, the domain goes into the cancellation state, that is: pending delete / pending delete.

What happens to domains whose cancellation is before the expiration date?

Domains have an annual validity, which starts from the day of registration or from the last modification, for example the change of Registrar. However, the registrant has the possibility to request cancellation of the domain at any time at This email address is protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Early cancellation does not involve management costs of the application but does not provide a refund of the registration or renewal cost incurred. The command to delete the domain requires that it be set in the pending delete / redemption period status for 30 days and follows the cancellation process provided by the Registry.

How does the cancellation mechanism called Drop Time work specifically?

At 01 AM each day the Registry automatically creates deletion lists containing the domains that were in pending delete / pending delete the previous day. The lists are divided into: today's cancellations and upcoming cancellations and both include a specific time i.e. 09 in the morning and 04 in the afternoon. The lists are published in:

https://www.nic.it/droptime/

To better explain the domain deletion mechanism, I will give you a simple example taking the pippo .it domain as an example. Let's suppose that the pippo .it domain is in pending delete / pending delete as of this morning:

Day 1: the pippo .it domain is in pending delete / pending delete

Day 2: at 01 AM the domain is added to the cancellation lists by the Registry

The domains will be divided into two lists and canceled at 9am or 4pm on day 4 (the day after tomorrow)

Day 4 at 4pm (example): domain is permanently deleted

.edu.it domains are excluded from this mechanism therefore in the event of cancellation, after 30 days in the pending delete/redemption period state, they immediately go into the pending delete/pending delete state and are definitively canceled the following day.

.it domains cannot be booked and can be registered freely after cancellation. Precisely for this reason I advise you to pay attention to the deadline and restore times so as not to reach the last available day, although our customer support is fast and offers 12 hours of service per day, the restore operation (will be carried out once payment has been received) still requires manual management on our part.

I suggest investing in the renewal and restoration of the domain rather than waiting for it to be cancelled, the risk of losing it permanently is really high. Unfortunately, it has already happened to see domains canceled and registered in the name of companies that deal with "park domains", leading companies in the sector that register canceled domains and then resell them at high prices. It will then be necessary to contact the Registry and evaluate the possibility of an opposition for a possible reassignment of the domain, times and costs well beyond the investment of renewal and restore.