How long does a domain stay on hold?
 

If you do not pay for the domain... the registration fee for the next year... how long does it take until the domain is deleted and someone else can take it?

It depends on the registar, I gave up on register.com domains after 8 months of being on hold.

So if I know the name of the domain I want and it is on hold, how do I find out when I may be able to buy it?

I still see domains unavailable when they expired in July 2001. I don't think they have definite rules on this.

There is no set period so you are just going to have to check every day until it is either free, bought by someone else, or renewed.

:thumbsup
Mogul

What there telling you is correct. It can vary enormously, it depends on the registrar and the registrars back end.

Theres not much to do but check often to see if it's released.

You can try bidding for it on snapnames and namebidder, with mixed results and no real guarantees.