Why is my Domain Suspended

Why is my domain suspended?

A domain can stop working for six different reasons, and each one has a different fix. This guide helps you identify which one applies to you, and what to do about it.

If your website and email have stopped working and your domain appears "suspended", the first thing to know is that your data has almost certainly not been deleted. In nearly every case the files, databases and mailboxes are untouched — what has changed is that the domain name no longer points at them.

Start here: find out which problem you have

Open your client area at domainindia.com/client/login and go to Domains. The status shown against your domain tells you which of the situations below applies.

What you see	What it means	Go to
Domain shows Expired	The registration period ended	Reason 1
An unpaid invoice for the domain	Renewal was raised but not paid	Reason 1
Status Pending verification, or eKYC not complete	Identity verification outstanding	Reason 2
Status Suspended and eKYC already done	Registry-level hold	Reason 3
Website says "Account Suspended"	Hosting issue, not the domain	Reason 4 or 5
Everything looks normal but nothing loads	Nameserver or DNS problem	Reason 6

Reason 1 — The domain expired or the renewal was not paid

This is the most common cause. When a domain expires, the registry takes it off your settings and parks it, so your website and email stop immediately. Incoming mail is rejected at the sender.

How to check: your domain will show an expiry date in the past, or an unpaid renewal invoice in Billing → Invoices.

How to fix it: pay the renewal invoice. Your domain, website and email return the same day, usually within a few hours as internet providers refresh their records.

Act quickly — the price changes with time:

How long since expiry	What you pay
.IN domains — up to 36 days	Normal renewal price
.IN domains — from day 37	Restoration, ₹2,500 (includes one year)
.COM and similar — roughly 30 days	Normal renewal price
.COM and similar — after that	Restoration, ₹8,000 (includes one year)

After the restoration window closes, the domain is deleted and released — anyone in the world can then register it. If your domain has recently expired, renewing today is far cheaper than recovering it later.

Reason 2 — Your .IN domain is waiting for eKYC (this one surprises people)

This applies only to .IN domains and the family that goes with it (.CO.IN, .NET.IN, .ORG.IN, .FIRM.IN, .GEN.IN, .IND.IN).

NIXI, the .IN registry, requires every registrant to verify their identity. Until that verification is complete, we are required to hold the domain — so a brand-new .IN domain you have just paid for may not work at all yet. This is normal and it is not a fault with your order.

How to recognise it: the domain is recent, it has never worked, and your client area shows verification as pending or incomplete.

How to fix it: go to Domains → your domain in the client area and complete the verification prompt. The hold is released automatically as soon as verification succeeds — there is nothing further to ask us for and no ticket to raise.

One trap catches people out, so check it before you start: the name on your identity document must match the registrant name on the domain. If they differ — even by a middle name or a spelling — the check fails silently and the hold stays in place. Correct the registrant name first, then verify.

If you are outside India: the online verification is built around Indian identity documents and will not work for you. There is a separate route — a signed declaration of your connection with India, plus a copy of your passport, which we file with the registry on your behalf. It is normally verified within one to three business days. Please note that a .IN domain does require a genuine connection with India; see Who Can Register a .IN Domain before you buy.

Reason 3 — A registry-level hold on a .IN domain

There are two different holds that can stop a .IN domain, and they need different things from you. This distinction matters, because doing the wrong one means waiting for something that will never happen.

Hold	Who applied it	What clears it
Registrar hold (clientHold)	Us, as your registrar	Completing eKYC. We release the hold ourselves as soon as it succeeds.
Registry hold (serverHold)	The registry (NIXI)	eKYC and your Aadhaar document sent to us, which we submit to the registry.

If you have completed eKYC and your domain is still not working, you are most likely on a registry hold. Send us a copy of your Aadhaar through a support ticket and we will file it with the registry for you. We cannot lift a registry hold on our own — only the registry can, once the evidence is submitted.

Reason 4 — Hosting suspended for non-payment

Your domain and your hosting are separate services with separate invoices. If the hosting invoice is unpaid, your website shows an "Account Suspended" page even though the domain itself is perfectly healthy.

How to fix it: pay the hosting invoice. Your files, databases and mailboxes are not deleted when an account is suspended — the account is switched off, not removed. Everything returns when it is reactivated.

Reason 5 — Hosting suspended for a security or resource problem

An account may be suspended to protect it and the other customers on the same server. The usual causes are:

• The site was compromised — most often an outdated WordPress plugin or theme. The account is suspended to stop it sending spam or serving malware.
• Resource limits exceeded — a script or a traffic spike using far more CPU or memory than the plan allows.
• Outbound spam — usually a hijacked mailbox or a contact form being abused, not something you did deliberately.

How to fix it: raise a support ticket. We will tell you exactly what was found and what needs cleaning. You will not be left to guess — and if the cause turns out to be a compromise, we can usually restore from a clean backup taken before it happened.

Reason 6 — The domain is fine, but it points nowhere

Sometimes nothing is suspended at all: the domain is active and paid, but its nameservers point somewhere that no longer answers — a previous host, or a service that has been shut down.

How to recognise it: the domain shows as active with no unpaid invoices, but the site does not load anywhere.

How to fix it: check the nameservers under Domains → your domain → Nameservers. If your hosting is with us, they should point at our nameservers, which are shown on your hosting details page. Raise a ticket if you are unsure — this is a two-minute fix and we would rather set it correctly than have you guess.

What we will never do

We do not delete your data because an invoice is late. Files, databases and mailboxes are retained through suspension and for a grace period after it. If you are worried about losing something, tell us — we can confirm what is still on the server before you make any decision.

Still not sure which applies to you?

Raise a ticket from your client area, or write to [email protected] with your domain name. Tell us what you see and we will identify the cause for you — you do not need to work it out yourself before contacting us.

Domain Registration India Private Limited is an accredited .IN registrar, so for .IN domains we deal with the registry directly rather than through a third party.