From 18 November 2026, deleted .hu domains no longer go to whoever applies first: the .hu registry (ISzT Nonprofit Kft.) will reassign them by auction. The new Domain Registration Rules and the separate Domain Auction Procedure Rules have been published on domain.hu, and both take effect on 18 November.
This article sums up how a .hu domain gets from expiry to auction, how long the previous holder can recover it, how bidding works and what it costs, and what a store using a .hu domain should check so it does not lose its address. The official documents are available in Hungarian only; the English terms below are our own translation.
Not a technical person?In plain English: do I need to do anything now?
If the store's .hu domain is renewed on time, nothing changes: according to the registry, the auction does not affect domains that are already registered, and not using a domain is not a reason for it to be auctioned.
If the domain fee is not paid and the domain is deleted, from 18 November anyone can bid on it, on the same terms as the previous holder. It can be recovered before deletion, in two 30-day stages.
If a developer, an agency or the hosting provider manages the domain, the question below can be sent to them as it is.
Question for whoever manages the domain
From 18 November 2026, deleted .hu domains go to auction. Until when is our store's .hu domain paid, and how and when does the registrar ask for the renewal fee? Whose name is registered as the domain holder, and to which e-mail address do the registry's and the registrar's notices go?
What changes for deleted .hu domains on 18 November?
According to the registry, under the current system several applications can compete in time when a domain is deleted, so no registrar can guarantee that an application gets priority. From 18 November 2026 this race is replaced by an auction. The rules in force today (from 1 July 2026) contain no auction.
The auction is governed by the Domain Registration Rules and the Domain Auction Procedure Rules together. Anyone can apply for a .hu domain if mandatory law does not exclude it; applicants from outside the EU, the EEA, EFTA, the Council of Europe and Hungary's neighbouring countries can do so if they carry out or start an activity that justifies a .hu domain.
How does a .hu domain get from expiry to auction?
- Expiry: the expiry date is the date until which the domain fee is settled with the registry; the registrar pays it to the registry. The registry sends the holder its registered details 30 days before expiry, and at least once a year.
- Termination: if the holder does not pay despite a reminder, the registrar may terminate the maintenance contract and stop the delegation (the domain then no longer points to the store). After that there are 30 days for a registrar to record a new maintenance contract.
- Revocation and grace period: if those 30 days pass, the registry revokes the domain, and deletion is preceded by a further 30-day grace period. During it, only the registered holder (or an heir, or the actual user) can ask for restoration, for a one-off fee plus one year of maintenance.
- Auction listing: after deletion, the domain goes on the auction listing for 15 days. The listing is published on domain.hu, and the whois shows when a domain is on it.
When a registrar records the end of the contract after expiry is set by the registrar, not by the rules, so the time from expiry to deletion can differ between registrars. Once a domain is on the auction listing, the previous holder has no priority and can bid like anyone else.
How does bidding work, and what does it cost?
The auction is an electronic sealed-bid procedure. Applications go through a registrar; registrars are not obliged to accept auction applications and set their own fees for it. After applying, the registry sends a unique link to the auction portal where a bid can be placed. During the auction, the number of applicants, who they are and how much they bid are not public.
| Case | What happens |
|---|---|
| nobody applies | the domain becomes freely registrable in the usual way |
| one applicant | wins the right to register without a bid and pays nothing to the registry |
| several applicants, no bids | the applications are deleted and the domain is listed for another 15 days |
| several applicants with valid bids | the highest bid wins; on a tie, the earlier bid |
According to the registry, the minimum bid at launch is HUF 6,000 gross, independent of the registration fee; for bids of HUF 100,000 or more, 10% of the bid has to be paid as a deposit, by bank card only. The cost has three parts: the registration fee paid to the registrar (for every application), the winning bid paid to the registry (only if others applied too), and the annual maintenance fee paid to the registrar.
What happens after the auction?
The winner does not get the domain automatically, but the right to register it. The registry reviews the application; if approved, the domain is conditionally registered and announced publicly for 8 days. If no complaint is filed in that time, the registration is completed. No more than 15 days may pass between the end of the auction and the conditional registration, otherwise the auction restarts.
- A winner who does not pay is barred from auctions for one calendar year.
- If the application is rejected, an applicant who paid the full bid gets 90% back; an amount paid only as a deposit is not refunded.
- After closing, the registry publishes the domain name, the winning amount and the time, but not who applied.
- According to the registry, the applicant is responsible for choosing a lawful name; the auction does not exempt anyone from the usual checks.
The domain holder is the person for whom the domain was registered, and only they can ask for restoration before deletion. It is worth checking that the store owner is listed as the holder of the store's domain. The basics of choosing and registering a domain are in the article How to buy a domain name.
How does this work with PrestaShop modules?
A domain is renewed at the registrar, not in the store. Inside the store, addresses matter when pages disappear or old addresses are inherited: a visitor or crawler arriving at an old address should land on the right page instead of a 404 error.
This is what the PrestaHU Redirect Manager module does:
- when a product is deleted, it creates a redirect to the chosen category; when a category is deleted, to the nearest category that stays, for every active language;
- URLs inherited from a previous system can be added from a CSV file or manually, and the old address can be entered as a full URL;
- status code per rule (301, 302, 303, 307, 308), and manually added rules are not overwritten;
- the click counter shows which old URLs are still visited; PrestaShop 1.7 to 9, with multistore and multiple languages.
What should you do now?
- Expiry: check in the domain.hu domain search until when the store's domain is paid.
- Renewal: check with the registrar how and when it asks for the renewal fee, and settle it before expiry.
- Details: keep the holder details and the notification e-mail address up to date, because the registry sends its notices there.
- Other domains: decide which old campaign or brand .hu domains are worth keeping, because after deletion anyone can bid on them.
Redirect Manager for PrestaShop
301 instead of 404 for deleted products and categories, inherited URLs from CSV, a click counter for every rule.
Frequently asked questions
From when are deleted .hu domains auctioned?
From 18 November 2026, when the new Domain Registration Rules and the Domain Auction Procedure Rules take effect.
Can a domain be auctioned if I do not use it?
According to the registry, no: how often a domain is used is not in itself a reason for revocation; only a revoked and then deleted domain can be auctioned.
Can I recover an expired .hu domain?
Before deletion, yes: within 30 days after the maintenance contract ends with a new contract, then during the 30-day grace period after revocation by restoration. Once the domain is on the auction listing, you can bid on it without priority.
What is the minimum bid?
According to the registry, HUF 6,000 gross at launch. With a single applicant, no bid is needed.
Does the winner get the domain?
The winner gets the right to register it: the registry reviews the application and announces the conditionally registered domain for 8 days.
Sources (in Hungarian): domain.hu: Domain auction, domain.hu knowledge base: domain auction, Domain Registration Rules (from 18 November 2026), Domain Auction Procedure Rules, Domain Registration Rules (from 1 July 2026), domain.hu: listings
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