What can you do if you have forgotten to renew your .FR domain name and someone else has registered it?

We do our best to notify you to renew your domains by sending reminders periodically once the expiring date nears but sometimes you might still forget or fail to renew them. Luckily Afnic has set up a procedure to "recover" your domain in this case.

While the domain registration is on "first come, first served" basis, there are always exceptions to the rules. Generally there are two position in which you can find yourself in if you have failed to renew a domain and someone else has re-registered it:

- You have prior rights to assert:

While you might not have been the first one to re-register your domain you might still have prior rights to assert.

In this case you can still be the rights holder and you can learn about your options and procedures by reading the Guide for rights holders of Domain Names under the .fr published by Afnic.

- You have no prior rights to assert:

This is the most complicated case since you lack prior rights on the domain and your options are limited to either reaching an amicable solution with the current registrar or resorting to judicial or extrajudicial proceedings.

To contact the new domain owner you can consult the Whois database by using the provided Afnic form enabling you to contact the administrative contact of the domain name.

To find out more about this please consult the Practical Guide for holders of Domain Names under the .fr (page 13) published by Afnic.

 

If you would like to make use of the recover function for a .fr domain please create a support ticket or contact us at [email protected]. These tickets will be considered as High Priority by our team as per our SLA.

 

For any further questions please don't hesitate to get in touch with us by using the contact form.

  • 34 Users Found This Useful
Was this answer helpful?

Related Articles

How to renew your domain?

Our system will automatically let you know when it's time for renewal in advance and in same...

Policies for .FR domains

Afnic has published several practical legal documents to help you with your day-to-day activity...

UK Domains - Complaints and Escalation Process

If you wish to raise a complaint about abuse you have received (phishing scams, spam emails etc),...

What is My EPP Code or Authorization Key?

An EPP code is an authorization key provided by your old registrar and required by your new...