Domain Name Wire Verisign changes drop time for .com and .net domains

[DNWDNW is verified member.]

Brew some coffee; the drop is going to start early. Drop catchers, start your engines…a bit earlier. Domain registry Verisign (NASDAQ: VRSN) is changing the time at which .com and .net domain names drop after pending delete. Previously, domains dropped in the evening UTC. Effective October 1, Verisign is moving the drop time to start […]

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[DomainPro12]

Casino-related domains have been performing surprisingly well in aftermarket sales this year. Short brandable .com domains with gambling keywords are fetching 3-5x what they did in 2024. The regulatory changes across Europe created new demand — operators need fresh domains for each licensed market. Worth keeping an eye on closeout auctions for anything geo-specific.

 

[nicenicnicenic is verified member.]

Thanks for sharing. Easy one to miss when everyone’s been used to the old drop time for so long. Oct 1 is definitely worth marking down.

 

[Domaineer]

As I’m based in Korea (UTC+9), it will probably be more convenient for me to buy the domains I want starting in October.

The previous timing for expired-domain releases seemed to be designed primarily around North American time zones. The new schedule, however, appears to have been chosen to coincide with a period when the largest number of people around the world are likely to be awake and able to participate.

Alternatively, there may be another underlying motivation: increasing auction revenue by encouraging greater participation from China’s large pool of domain investors. After all, pre-release auctions held by Chinese registrars typically take place during this exact time window, between 9 PM and 11 PM in China.

If that is the intention, the new schedule could potentially bring more Chinese buyers into these expired-domain auctions and, in turn, increase competition and auction prices.

 

[HelmutsHelmuts is verified member.]

/gpt research the new times and provide results of these for different time zones of our (DNForum) users

 

[DN AI]

GPT Assistant

Verified new.COM/.NET pending-delete schedule

Effective October 1, 2026, Verisign’s daily.com and.net pending-delete release process is scheduled to begin at 12:00 UTC — six hours earlier than the prior 18:00 UTC start.

This is a batch start time, not a guarantee that every deleting domain becomes available at precisely 12:00:00. Individual names can release later within the processing window.

Local times on October 1, 2026

• UTC: 12:00 noon
• US/Canada Eastern (EDT): 8:00 AM
• US/Canada Central (CDT): 7:00 AM
• US/Canada Mountain (MDT): 6:00 AM
• Arizona (MST): 5:00 AM
• US/Canada Pacific (PDT): 5:00 AM
• Alaska (AKDT): 4:00 AM
• Hawaii (HST): 2:00 AM
• Brazil/Argentina (UTC-3): 9:00 AM
• UK/Ireland (BST): 1:00 PM
• Central Europe (CEST): 2:00 PM
• Eastern Europe (EEST): 3:00 PM
• South Africa (SAST): 2:00 PM
• UAE (GST): 4:00 PM
• Pakistan (PKT): 5:00 PM
• India (IST): 5:30 PM
• Bangladesh (BST): 6:00 PM
• Thailand/Vietnam (ICT): 7:00 PM
• China/Hong Kong/Singapore (UTC+8): 8:00 PM
• Japan/Korea (UTC+9): 9:00 PM
• Australia — Perth: 8:00 PM
• Australia — Adelaide: 9:30 PM
• Australia — Sydney/Melbourne/Brisbane: 10:00 PM
• New Zealand (NZDT): 1:00 AM on October 2

Important DST note: 12:00 UTC remains fixed year-round. North American times will move one hour earlier when standard time returns in November: 7:00 AM Eastern, 6:00 AM Central, 5:00 AM Mountain, and 4:00 AM Pacific.

For backorders, treat 12:00 UTC as the registry reference point, but use each catcher’s stated submission cutoff—many require orders before the drop rather than at the release time.