How It Works

Domain intelligence,
automated

DomainsWatch monitors domain lifecycles across 170+ TLDs and alerts you the moment something changes. Here's how.

The Domain Lifecycle

Every domain goes through a predictable lifecycle managed by its registry. For .co.za domains, this is ZACR (the ZA Central Registry). DomainsWatch tracks each stage for you across South African and international TLDs.

Active

Domain is registered and in use. WHOIS shows a valid registrant and expiry date. DomainsWatch monitors for any changes to registrant, registrar, or expiry.

Expiring Soon

Domain expiry is within 30 days. The registrant has not yet renewed. This is a key alert trigger - if you want this domain, now is the time to prepare.

Pending Suspension

Domain has expired and ZACR has initiated the suspension process. The registrant can still renew during this window, but DNS may be disrupted.

Pending Deletion

Domain is queued for removal from the registry. Renewal is still possible but increasingly unlikely. DomainsWatch increases monitoring frequency at this stage.

Redemption

Final grace period. The registrant can reclaim the domain by paying a premium fee. If not redeemed, the domain proceeds to release.

Available

Domain has been released by the registry and is available for registration. This triggers our most urgent alert. Our catching service will attempt registration automatically.

What DomainsWatch Monitors

Registration Status

Active, expired, suspended, pending deletion, redemption, and available.

Expiry Dates

Track when domains are due to expire and whether registrants renew.

Registrar Changes

Detect when a domain transfers between registrars.

Registrant Changes

Know when domain ownership changes hands (where WHOIS discloses this).

Where Our Data Comes From

We combine multiple authoritative sources to build a comprehensive picture of the domain landscape.

Certificate Transparency Logs

We harvest domain names from SSL certificate issuance records, covering the vast majority of active domains.

WHOIS Protocol

Daily queries to the ZACR WHOIS servers provide authoritative registration data, expiry dates, and status information.

User Submissions

Search for any domain and submit it for monitoring, even if it is not yet in our database. We will begin tracking it immediately.

Change Detection

Every WHOIS response is hashed and compared. When the hash changes, we parse the diff and determine what shifted.

Ready to start monitoring?

Create an account, search for a domain, and add it to your watchlist. It takes less than two minutes.

Get Started