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Domain Renewal

Renewal keeps a domain active beyond its expiry date. WHMCS manages the billing cycle and triggers renewal via the HostMyServers API at the right time.

Automatic Renewal​

Domain-level Configuration​

Each domain in WHMCS has an Auto-renewal setting:

  • Enabled: WHMCS automatically generates an invoice before expiry. If the invoice is paid, renewal is triggered with HostMyServers.
  • Disabled: no automatic invoice is generated. The client must renew manually.

To modify this setting for a specific domain:

Clients → client → Domains tab → domain → Edit → Auto-renewal setting

Invoice Generation Delay​

By default, WHMCS generates the renewal invoice 30 days before expiry. This delay is configurable in:

Setup → System → Automation → Domains → Days Before Expiry to Generate Invoice

Recommendation

Keep a value of at least 14 days to give the client time to pay before the deadline. For TLDs with short grace periods, consider 30 to 45 days.

Manual Renewal by the Client​

The client can renew their domain from their WHMCS client area:

  1. My Services → Domains
  2. Click on the domain to renew
  3. Click Renew Now
  4. Choose the duration and confirm payment

Renewal is triggered immediately after payment.

Manual Renewal by the Administrator​

From the WHMCS back office:

  1. Clients → client → Domains tab → domain
  2. Click the Renew button (in the module actions)
  3. WHMCS sends a renewal request to the HostMyServers API
  4. The new expiry date is updated in WHMCS
Manual billing

Renewal from the back office does not automatically generate an invoice. If you want to bill the client, create a manual invoice before triggering the renewal.

Renewal After Expiry (Grace Period)​

If a domain expires without being renewed, it enters a grace period (generally 30 days for most TLDs). During this period:

  • The domain can still be renewed at the normal rate
  • The website and associated emails are generally suspended by the registry

To renew a domain in the grace period from WHMCS, the procedure is identical to a normal renewal.

Restoration from the Redemption Period​

After the grace period, some domains enter a redemption period (approximately 30 days). The domain can still be recovered, but with additional restoration fees imposed by the registry.

To restore a domain in redemption:

  1. From the domain record in WHMCS, click Restore
  2. WHMCS sends a restore request to the HostMyServers API
  3. The restoration fees (configured in extension management) are added to the invoice
Urgent deadline

The redemption period is limited. After this deadline, the domain is released and can be registered by anyone. Act quickly if a client wants to recover a domain in redemption.

Expiry Date Synchronisation​

After each renewal, WHMCS updates the domain's expiry date with the value returned by the HostMyServers API. If the date in WHMCS does not match reality (for example after a renewal performed directly from the HostMyServers client area), force a synchronisation:

Clients → client → Domains tab → domain → Sync

Or from Utilities → Domain Synchronisation to process all domains at once.