A change to the domain is waiting to complete.
An update command (for example new nameservers or contacts) has been processed but is held for completion, sometimes for review.
- EPP code
- pendingUpdate
- In RDAP
- pending update
- Set by
- The registry (server status)
- Defined in
- RFC 5731 §2.3
- How serious
- Informational
Why it matters
Expected right after you change something, such as moving to a new DNS host. Unexpected otherwise: an update you didn’t ask for can be the first sign that someone else is in your registrar account, because nameserver changes are how domains get hijacked.
When you’d see it
Some registries hold updates such as nameserver changes for review; while they wait, the domain keeps its old settings, so a DNS move appears not to have happened yet.
How it shows up in a lookup
In a gTLD WHOIS lookup it appears as “Domain Status: pendingUpdate https://icann.org/epp#pendingUpdate”; RDAP shows it as “pending update”. It is managed by the registry as a result of an operation (RFC 5731 §2.3), not a setting you or your registrar toggle directly.
What to do
If you didn’t request a change, contact your registrar.
Combination rules
Must not be combined with clientUpdateProhibited or serverUpdateProhibited (RFC 5731 §2.3).
Related codes
Sources
Sources
- RFC 5731 §2.3 (EPP Domain Name Mapping) · checked 5 Oct 2026
- ICANN: EPP Status Codes, What do they mean, and why should I know? · checked 5 Oct 2026
- RFC 8056: EPP and RDAP status mapping · checked 5 Oct 2026