.shop Domain: A Retail Extension Read in Many Languages
The .shop registry agreement dates from 8 April 2016 and the zone was added to the root on 5 May 2016. The registry operator is GMO Registry, Inc. of Tokyo. Its own registration policy describes the extension as a domain name for commerce, aimed at online shops and at offline retailers building an online presence, with shopping malls, review sites and guides counted inside the same scope.
The registry's stated rationale is linguistic: because the word shop is recognised across many languages and cultures, the address identifies a site as retail or e-commerce without further explanation. There is no eligibility rule, and names are allocated first come, first served once general availability opens. Test your shortlist on the .shop domain search page, and review hosting options before you commit to a build.
The registry retired its whois service on 1 May 2026 and moved registration data queries to RDAP, in line with ICANN's RDAP transition policy. The practical consequence is concrete: a port 43 whois query now returns a redirection notice rather than record fields. When you need to check the status of a .shop name, use your registrar's control panel or the registry's RDAP service instead.
.SHOP Domain at a Glance
- Registry operator GMO Registry, Inc. (Tokyo)
- Root zone entry 5 May 2016
- Eligibility None; first come, first served in general availability
- Registration data Whois retired 1 May 2026; queries served over RDAP
- Document Requirement No documents are required to register a .shop domain
- Character Length 3 - 63 characters
- Registration Period 1 - 10 years
- Name Server Count 2 - 10 servers
.shop Domain Prices — No Surprise Fees
Registration, transfer and renewal fees are listed separately. The renewal price can differ from the first-year price, so you see both up front.
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New Registration
$1.99 /year -
Transfer
$39.92 /year -
Renewal
$39.92 /year -
Restore
$179.90 -
Late Renewal
$6.98
Included With Every .shop Domain
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Free DNS management
Change A, MX, TXT and CNAME records yourself from the panel — no waiting on anyone when you move a site or mailbox.
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Domain lock
While the lock is on, nobody can move your domain to another registrar without your approval.
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Domain forwarding
Point the domain at your existing site, a campaign page or a social profile — at no extra cost.
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Free WHOIS privacy
Your name, address and phone stay out of public WHOIS records, which cuts down spam and scam calls.
.shop Domain Lifecycle
What happens day by day after it expires
Day 0 is the domain's expiry dateIn short: your .shop domain is put on Client Hold on its expiry date, so the site and e-mail stop that same day. You can still renew during the first 20 days, but from this point a late renewal fee is added on top of the renewal price. On day 20 the registration is deleted and until day 50 only a paid restore brings it back. Nothing at all can be done in the 5 days that follow, and on day 55 the name is open to anyone. There is exactly one way never to enter this chain: keep auto-renewal on.
Domain Is Available (Available)
A .shop address at this stage has not been taken yet, and it goes to whoever registers first. Check the name you have in mind — if it is free, it can be yours within minutes.
Domain Is Active (Active Period)
Once registration is complete, the domain is registered to you for the term you selected. You can renew at any point before it expires to keep it active, or switch on auto-renewal so you never have to watch the date.
Renewal Window (Client Hold)
On its expiry date your .shop domain is put on Client Hold: the site and e-mail go down that day, but the registration is still yours. A single renewal within these first 20 days brings everything back exactly as it was — nothing is lost. The only difference is that a $6.98 late renewal fee is now added to the renewal price; renewing before the expiry date avoids that fee entirely.
Redemption Period (Redemption / RGP)
On day 20 the registration is deleted and the 30-day redemption period that ICANN requires of every gTLD registry begins. The name is not released to anyone during this time; only you can take it back, by paying the restore fee, until day 50. That fee is far higher than a renewal — renewing on time is always the cheaper route.
Pending Delete (Pending Delete)
Once the redemption window closes too, the domain enters its final 5 days and there is no way back. Neither renewal nor restore works here; nobody — your registrar included — can return the name to you. The registry uses this window as the last hold before the name goes back into the pool.
Open to Anyone Again (Released)
On day 55 the name .shop returns to the pool and anyone can register it. Sought-after names are often gone within seconds, and there is no guaranteed way to get one back. Yet staying out of this timeline is entirely in your hands: leave auto-renewal on and the expiry date will never catch you off guard.
The timeline above is the schedule Atak Domain applies and publishes. The ICANN chart you will find elsewhere shows a renewal window of up to 45 days after expiry; ICANN's policy on expired registrations (section 2.2.1) lets registrars delete an expired domain at any time, provided they disclose their policy in advance. We apply that window as 20 days and publish it here in plain sight. Full text of the policy: ICANN Expired Registration Recovery Policy
.shop Domain Specifications and Registration Rules
Registration conditions, supported features and the registry's own timelines in a single table.
.shop Domain Registration
- Document Requirement No documents are required to register a .shop domain
- Character Length 3 - 63 characters
- Registration Period 1 - 10 years
- Name Server Count 2 - 10 servers
.shop Domain Support
- IDN Support Yes
- Transfer Support Yes
- Late Renewal Support Yes
Frequently Asked Questions About .shop Domains
The questions people actually ask before registering — answered plainly.
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No. The registry's registration policy allocates names first come, first served once general availability opens, and it sets no identity, sector or licensing condition. A sole trader, a limited company and an association apply on identical terms. The extension is not a permit: whatever authorisation your trade requires arises from the activity itself, not from the address. Try your candidates on the .shop search page.
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Because the registry closed its whois service on 1 May 2026 and moved registration data queries to RDAP. A query sent to port 43 now returns a short notice describing that change instead of record fields. Your expiry date, lock state and contact details remain visible in your registrar's control panel, and classic lookups still work for other extensions through the whois search page.
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The registry publishes an IDN policy that lists twelve supported languages and scripts, among them Arabic, Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Russian and Turkish. Two practical checks come first, though: confirm that your registrar accepts those characters, and confirm that your mail and certificate tooling handles the name cleanly. When in doubt, register an ASCII equivalent alongside it.
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Both signal retail; the difference lies in the operator and the connotation. The word shop reads as noun and verb at once and evokes an actual storefront, while .store carries a slightly more corporate, catalogue-like tone. The decision rule is plain: say your brand aloud with each one and keep whichever flows better. Holding both and redirecting one is inexpensive insurance for a brand you intend to grow.
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Release the transfer lock, obtain the authorisation code, then file the request with the gaining registrar. Downtime translates straight into lost orders in e-commerce, so schedule the move outside promotional periods and export a copy of your DNS records first. Run the process from the domain transfer page, and plan certificate coverage for your checkout pages via SSL certificates.
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