Frequently Asked Questions

DropTimes.co.uk helps you discover and track UK domains that are scheduled to drop. We cover .uk, .co.uk, .org.uk, .me.uk, and .ltd.uk.

We show predicted drop times (UTC and BST) so you can prepare before a name becomes available to register through your chosen registrar.

• Daily updates: the drop list is refreshed from Nominet data
• Search & filter: keyword search, date browsing, and TLD filters
• Watchlist: registered users can watch domains and receive notifications
• RDAP snapshots: for watched domains we capture registration data at key moments (see below)

No. DropTimes is an information and tracking service — we do not register domains.

When a domain drops, register it through your preferred UK registrar (for example GoDaddy, Namecheap, 123-Reg, or another Nominet tag holder).

DropTimes does not currently offer dropcatching on this site. For UK dropcatching, ukbackorder.uk provides dedicated catching services.

Visit ukbackorder.uk

When you watch a domain we store snapshots of its Nominet RDAP record at specific points — we do not poll RDAP on every page view.

• Watch added: snapshot when you add the domain to your watchlist
• Pre-drop: ~2 minutes before the published drop time
• Post-drop: ~1 minute after the drop time

These snapshots let us detect whether a domain was renewed, caught by someone else, or appears available. You receive email and in-app notifications when the status changes.

Everyone (free):

• Browse domains by date, search globally, filter by TLD
• Short domains (≤3 chars) and old domains (ROID < 10m) — limited preview for guests

Registered users (free):

• Unlimited lists, personal watchlist, email notifications
• RDAP history for watched domains, calendar (ICS) downloads
• For-sale and auction detection on watched domains (see below)

DropTimes discovery and tracking is free. There are no registration fees, subscriptions, or paywalled list features.

UK domains follow Nominet's published expiry process. After the registration expiry time, a domain moves through three grace periods before it becomes available to register again on a first-come-first-served basis.

DropTimes shows the scheduled drop time from Nominet's daily drop list data. Once a domain drops and is registered by someone else, it leaves our rolling list — but if you had it on your watchlist we keep your saved record and RDAP history.

Source: Nominet — New domain expiry process and introduction of drop lists for .uk

Yes — this runs automatically for watched domains only. When you add a domain to your watchlist we queue an immediate scan. After that, scheduled checks keep running in the background.

How it works: we check DNS nameserver patterns, HTTP redirects, and page-content keywords to see whether a watched name is listed for sale or at auction. If we find a marketplace URL, we show a link on your watchlist (never to a dead domain — only to the external listing).

When it runs:

• On watch — immediate check when you save/watch a domain
• Twice daily (06:00 & 18:00 UK time) — full re-scan of all watched domains
• Every 5 minutes — extra checks on watched domains that dropped in the last 10 minutes
• Daily at 02:45 UK time — initialise check records for newly watched domains and prune unwatched ones

International marketplaces for domain catching:

Separate from for-sale checks: our RDAP ledger runs every minute for watched domains to capture pre-drop (~2 min before) and post-drop (~1 min after) snapshots, so we can tell if a name was caught, renewed, or appears available.

Auction site owners can request link changes via our contact form (register and log in to contact us).

• Have your registrar account ready and logged in before drop time
• Consider multiple registrars for contested names
• Use ICS calendar downloads and notifications from your watchlist
• Review RDAP history before pursuing a name
• Act quickly — popular domains can be taken within seconds

TLDs supported: .uk, .co.uk, .org.uk, .me.uk, .ltd.uk

Drop time accuracy: based on Nominet data, shown in UTC and BST

Data updates: the drop list is refreshed daily; watched-domain RDAP and for-sale checks run on the schedules above

RDAP: Registration Data Access Protocol — Nominet's successor to WHOIS for .uk domains

Can't find what you're looking for?

• Browse today's domains
• Global search
• Sign up free