inactive domain status
inactive means the domain has no name servers associated with it, so it is not published in DNS and does not resolve.
Updated
- Set by
- Registry, when no delegation exists
- Effect
- Domain does not resolve
- RDAP shows
- inactive
What inactive means
RFC 5731 makes inactive the default status when a domain object is created without host objects for the DNS delegation, and it returns when every name server association is removed. Unlike a hold, nothing is being suppressed; there is simply no delegation to publish.
ICANN notes that if a domain stays inactive for several days it can be worth asking the registrar about the delay, and that some TLDs hold names inactive until required registration documentation is provided.
On a domain you are watching
A lookalike reading inactive is registered but not delegated: nothing resolves under it yet, though the registration itself is complete. Name servers can be added at any time, so an inactive record today can be a live site on the next check.
Check a domain’s status codes
The lookup reads a domain’s live RDAP record and returns its current status set.
What to do about inactive
A registrant resolves it by supplying name servers through the registrar. If documentation requirements are holding the name inactive, the registrar can say what the TLD needs.
Sources
Frequently asked questions
Both leave the domain unresolvable, but for opposite reasons. inactive means no delegation was ever associated; a hold suppresses delegation that the registration has. inactive clears by adding name servers, a hold clears when whoever set it lifts it.
Yes. The registration exists and shows in RDAP; only the DNS delegation is missing. The registrant can add name servers and go live whenever they choose.
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