Many of my clients have received, or will receive via mail an official looking “bill” from Domain Registry of America. This sounds like a domain renewal. Since the expiration date(s) is/are accurate – it looks legit.

What this really is offering is having you switch your registrant to Domain Registry of America, though that doesn’t really catch your eye. (It didn’t catch mine the first time I saw this.)

 This is a transfer which has to be initiated by the domain registrant and monitoring to make sure each step is taken: unlocking your domain, etc. There is a time frame for this – if you miss a step, you begin again. It’s not something you want to do, but IF you decide to transfer you can typically get one year free and subsequent years discounted, or some offer which makes it worth the trouble – IF you’re handling this yourself.

Your domain renewal will come via an email.  You’ll get plenty of advance notice, as long as it isn’t getting snagged by your spam filter. And you’ll hear from most companies throughout the year. 

I know these Internet related things can be confusing and this company is making a nice profit from confusion. It is also frustrating to think you have taken care of your domain, to find out it really will expire. 

This is what this “bill” looks like.