Why is "dropped" as a domain activity status often ambiguous?

When WhoisXML API reports that a domain has, "dropped," this does not necessarily mean that a domain is no longer registered, or no longer hosted.

When the reason value is, "dropped," any of the following could apply:

The domain has passed its expiration date and has not been renewed (most common)
- A very rough, wildly-dependent-on-the-registrar calendar of events for an expired domain is the following:
  - Day 0: domain expiration date
  - Day 3-5: domain gets parked
  - Day 30-45: Registrant Grace Period (RGP)
  - Day 45-ish: redemption period
  - Day 90+: PendingDelete
  - Post-PendingDelete: domain is available for registration
- For a reference, see, ”domain life cycle” at DuckDuckGo.
A domain is no longer being reported by the registrar, even if the domain expiration date has not passed
The registrar persistently returned an error when querying and rechecking for the domain’s registration data
The authoritative WHOIS and DNS server was not reachable when our process queried for the domain after multiple attempts

Domain Lifecycle

Despite how it looks from the outside, domain lifecycle data isn’t clean or consistent. Here’s what’s really going on under the hood:

1. Registrars Move at Their Own Pace

Some registrars (like GoDaddy, NameCheap, Dotster) don’t push WHOIS updates immediately. Changes can lag for hours or even days.
That means the “new” domain may have dropped and re-registered days ago—but the WHOIS server only just caught up.

2. WHOIS and DNS Can Disagree

WHOIS might say the domain is dropped.
But global DNS caches still show it resolving.
Or worse: WHOIS shows “new,” but it’s just a delayed update of a re-used domain.

3. Zone Files Are Daily, Not Real-Time

Most registries release daily zone files, not real-time feeds.

So if a domain drops and is re-registered in under 24h, the first signal we get might be ambiguous.

Interpreting Domain Statuses in the Feed

What You See	Why It Happens
A previously dropped domain shows up as “added”	Registrar has shared a new create date for the domain (often during domain transfers)
A domain reported as “dropped” has not yet dropped	Domain failed to renew prior to expiration date, or has become repeatedly unreachable by WHOIS+RDAP+DNS in sustained queries
A “new” domain keeps appearing multiple times	Grace periods + DNS caching create temporary ghosts

This isn’t just a WhoisXML problem—everyone in the industry deals with this, including major EASM, threat intel, and brand protection vendors. But we know you have to answer for it when things look off.

Our goals are to significantly improve the current, “dropped,” detection logic to reduce false positives on domains that still exist, or came back online fast. We are also researching appending an, “expiring,” or similar status, as well as improving logic leveraging ICANN’s EPP Statuses for registrars with strong ICANN compliance. We expect that as RDAP is progressively adopted across more registrars, a higher standard of authoritative data quality will also improve signal-to-noise ratio.

For users who are leveraging the, “dropped,” domains statuses currently to manage local WHOIS databases, some practical current guidance can be found in using, “updated,” domains in the same Newly Registered Domains datafeed files, which offer refreshed and current info on the domains most recent WHOIS status.

Why These Delays Occur

Batch Processing: Many registrars only push updates periodically (hourly or daily) rather than instantly.
Registry Synchronization: Registrar updates must propagate to registry WHOIS servers and TLD zone files.
Throttling & Rate Limits: Registrars often throttle WHOIS changes to manage load or deter abuse.
Registrar Lock & Privacy Services: Locks, privacy redaction, and other control features can delay updates further.