Also called registration date · created date
Creation date, explained
An old creation date means the name has been registered without interruption since then, not that its current owner has held it that long. A name that dropped and was registered again shows the new date even if it existed for decades, so check the Wayback Machine and historical WHOIS for earlier lives. Under ICANN's Transfer Policy, the creation date also starts the 60-day period in which a registrar may refuse a transfer to another registrar.
Investors cite creation dates as proof of age, and some buyers value that. In a UDRP dispute, though, panels look at when the current registrant acquired the name: according to the WIPO Overview 3.1, a transfer to a new holder is not a renewal, and the acquisition date is the one used to judge bad faith. Keep purchase records, because a creation date that predates a trademark does not protect a buyer who acquired the name after the mark existed.
Example. The RDAP record showed a creation date in 1998, which told the buyer the .com had never dropped, although historical WHOIS showed it had changed owners twice.
Go deeper Expired Domains and Drop Catching: How the Domain Lifecycle Works
Free to read, no signup. The list is for news of the course itself.
Join the waitlistSources
Education, not financial, legal or tax advice. Domain investing is speculative and most domain names never sell. Read the disclaimer.
