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GlossaryExtensions

Early Access Period (EAP)

The Early Access Period (EAP) is a short launch phase for a new domain extension, after the trademark sunrise and before regular-price general availability, in which anyone can register available names first-come, first-served by paying an extra fee that falls each day.

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Also called EAP · Early Access Program

Early Access Period, explained

Several registries, including Donuts (now Identity Digital) and Google Registry, have launched extensions with an EAP; some call it an Early Access Program. The fee is highest on the first day and steps down on a published schedule, usually over five to seven days, until names reach the regular price. The extra fee is typically a one-time charge, and renewals revert to the normal price unless the name is also a registry premium.

For a domain investor, the EAP is a speed premium: you pay extra to beat others to a name that would otherwise go to whoever registers first when regular pricing opens. That is rarely worth it. New extensions have thin resale markets, and a launch premium raises the bar every future sale has to clear. The exceptions are short, generic names that a well-funded business in that niche would build on; for those, compare the total cost, including renewals, with realistic comparable sales in the same extension.

Example. Paying a steep first-day fee to register a one-word name in a newly launched extension, rather than waiting for regular pricing, is buying during the Early Access Period.

Sources

  1. Google — Introducing .app, a more secure home for apps on the web (May 1, 2018)
  2. Domain Name Wire — GoDaddy has a $12,500 price tag for Donuts' Early Access Program (December 10, 2013)
  3. Domain Incite — .hot is for hookers? Amazon's first premium regs revealed (May 14, 2025)

Education, not financial, legal or tax advice. Domain investing is speculative and most domain names never sell. Read the disclaimer.

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