Important policies for gTLD domains
All domain registration in generic top-level domains (gTLDs) namespaces are subject to the requirements and policies of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). This page informs domain registrants about procedures and fees that apply to gTLD registrations, as required by applicable policies.
Domain registrants may review their rights and responsibilities that come with the registration of any gTLD domain name in the Registrant’s Benefits and Responsibilities section of the ICANN website. At this location, Registered Name Holders will also find Registrant Educational Materials provided by ICANN.
Domain expiration and renewal
Notification of expiring domains:
As a domain registrant, you will receive a first notification 30 days prior to the expiration date of your domain, informing you about the pending renewal and the expiration date of your domain.
A second notice informing you again on the pending renewal and the expiration date will be sent to you seven days prior to the expiration date.
In case the domain has not been renewed, it will be deleted on its expiration date. Five days after its expiration, you as a domain registrant will receive another email informing you about the deletion of the domain and possible measures to restore the name.
Those notices will originate from no-reply@renewalnotice.net and will be sent to the registrant email address in both English and German. We recommend that you whitelist no-reply@renewalnotice.net with your mail provider to ensure receipt of these notices. Notices will be sent regardless of whether an automatic renewal has been requested for the domain, or if the domain has been set to expire.
Restoration of expired domains:
In case a domain has not been renewed, it will be deleted at its expiration date. A domain is available for restoration during a period of 30 days after its deletion. The restoration is only available to the registrant at expiration. Some registries do not allow expired domains to be transferred to another registrar until they have been restored.
If you are a domain registrant and wish to restore an expired domain name, please contact the domain provider in charge of managing your domain prior to its expiration. Your provider will then work with the registrar to initiate the necessary steps to restore the domain. You will be charged a restoration fee along with the renewal fee for your domain. Details on renewal and restoration fees are available from your domain provider. If you are a direct customer of EPAG, please consult the domain pricing section after logging in to your customer account to learn about applicable restoration and renewal fees. Fees applicable for registrants managing their domains directly through EPAG are available /en/fees.
Customer service, complaints, dispute handling and abuse contact
Registered Name Holders need to contact their domain service provider for any customer service requests on registered domains. Please direct all requests to change the registration details of a domain name or retrieve authcodes directly to your domain service provider. Your service provider will also accept complaints or assist in resolving disputes.
Complaints or disputes directed to us as a Sponsoring Registrar can be submitted to compliance@epag.de or you can call +1.4165350123. Our internal compliance department will process and respond to such requests. Your email will be acknowledged immediately and we will respond to the issue in no more than 5 days.
Notice for Foreign Law Enforcement Agencies:
Please direct requests and abuse complaints to the relevant national law enforcement agencies in Germany. We will process and respond to written requests submitted by German Law Enforcement without delay.
Please find contact information for our registrar EPAG Domainservices GmbH in our Legal Disclaimer. EPAG Domainservices GmbH is a fully-owned subsidiary of Tucows.com Co.
Information on ERRP implementation for domain resellers:
As of August 31, 2013, all ICANN accredited registrars and their resellers need to comply with the Expired Registration Recovery Policy (ERRP). The ERRP covers the domain expiration and recovery procedures for all generic top level domains (gTLDs), and also applies to all New gTLD extensions. We have put together a quick implementation guide for domain resellers as a PDF document.
Information on website content complaints:
Generally, your first step if you have a complaint about the content of a website would be to approach the website owner, either via the contact information on the site itself, or through any available contacts in Whois. Your second step would be to contact the web-host. EPAG is primarily a wholesale Registrar, and as a registrar acts only as a technical infrastructure provider for domain name registration and management.
If you can provide evidence of due process requiring the take-down of the website (such as a court order) or exigent circumstances (imminent threat of violence, injury, or significant crime), you can submit a ticket to our abuse team. You can find more information on the Tucows policy on taking down domains for website content issues here.