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WHOIS Lookup

Check domain registration details, registrar, expiry, and name servers

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About WHOIS Lookup

WHOIS is a publicly available database that stores registration information for domain names. When you register a domain, your contact details and registration information are stored in the WHOIS database maintained by your domain registrar and the relevant registry.

What WHOIS Data Shows

A WHOIS lookup typically reveals the domain registrar, registration date, expiry date, name servers, domain status, and sometimes the registrant contact information. Due to privacy laws like GDPR, many registrars now redact personal information from public WHOIS records by default.

Common Uses for WHOIS

Reading a WHOIS record: every field, and what it is worth

A WHOIS record has three useful halves and one that is mostly gone. The dates and the registrar tell you how old and how stable a domain is; the name servers tell you who really runs it; the status codes tell you whether it is locked, suspended or already expiring. The registrant’s name and email have been redacted on almost every generic domain since GDPR took effect on 25 May 2018 — that is policy, not a limitation of this tool.

What each field means

FieldWhat it tells youStill public in 2026?
Domain NameThe canonical name, including any IDN formYes
Registrar / IANA IDThe company you have a contract with, and who to escalate toYes — always
Creation DateWhen this registration began. Resets if the domain dropped and was re-registered.Yes
Updated DateLast change to the record: contacts, name servers, status or a renewalYes
Registry Expiry DateEnd of the paid term — not the date it becomes availableYes
Name ServerThe authoritative DNS servers. Usually names the real host.Yes
Domain StatusEPP codes: locks, holds and lifecycle stateYes
DNSSECsignedDelegation or unsignedYes
Registrant Name / Email / AddressWho owns itNo — redacted or anonymised
Registrant State / CountryRough locationUsually yes
Registrar Abuse ContactA mailbox the registrar is contractually required to monitorYes — mandatory

Status codes, decoded

CodeSet byWhat it means for you
okRegistryNo locks at all. Also means no registrar lock, so easiest to transfer away.
clientTransferProhibitedRegistrarThe normal registrar lock. Good. Remove it only to transfer out.
clientDeleteProhibited / clientUpdateProhibitedRegistrarExtra locks against deletion and record changes.
clientHoldRegistrarRemoved from DNS. Nothing resolves. Usually unpaid invoice, unverified email or abuse.
serverHoldRegistrySame effect, imposed above your registrar. Legal or policy driven.
inactiveRegistryNo name servers delegated, so it cannot resolve.
autoRenewPeriodRegistryExpired and auto-renewed. Up to 45 days to sort out the payment.
redemptionPeriodRegistryDeleted after expiry. About 30 days and a redemption fee to get it back.
pendingDeleteRegistryPast redemption. Drops in about 5 days and anyone can take it.

The expiry timeline, so the date makes sense

StageDays after the expiry dateWho can recover it
Auto-renew grace0 to 45You, at the normal renewal price
Redemption45 to 75You only, and only with a redemption fee
Pending delete75 to 80Nobody
Droppedabout 80Anyone, first come first served

Worked example: is this shop safe to buy from?

WHOIS says: Creation Date 2026-08-21, Registry Expiry 2027-08-21, name servers ns1.parkingcrew.net, status ok.

Age: about three weeks. Almost every payment-fraud domain is under a month old.

Term: one year, the minimum. A real business usually renews further out.

Name servers: a parking provider. There is no hosting behind this.

Status: ok means not even a registrar lock is set.

Four independent signals pointing the same way. Do not enter card details.

What a lookup cannot tell you

Answers built on this tool

More questions people ask

Why is the registrant name hidden?

The EU’s GDPR took effect on 25 May 2018 and ICANN responded by requiring registrars to stop publishing registrant name, email, address and phone in public WHOIS. The data is still collected and retained; it is simply not published. This applies to almost all generic TLDs regardless of where the registrant lives.

What is the difference between WHOIS and RDAP?

RDAP is the modern replacement: structured JSON over HTTPS instead of free text over port 43, with a defined schema and support for authenticated access. Since 28 January 2025 gTLD registries and registrars are no longer required to run the old WHOIS service at all, so a growing share of lookups are really RDAP queries presented in the familiar layout.

The lookup returned nothing. Is the domain free?

Usually yes — “No match” means the registry has no record of that name. Two exceptions: a registration made in the last few minutes may not have propagated to the lookup service, and a few registries return the same message for names that are reserved rather than available.

Can I see who owned a domain before it changed hands?

Not from a live lookup. WHOIS and RDAP return only the current registration, and if the domain dropped and was re-registered the earlier record is gone. Historical WHOIS is a separate commercial data product built from archived snapshots.

How do I contact the owner of a domain I want to buy?

Try the anonymised registrant email in the record — privacy services forward it to the real owner. If the name servers point at a marketplace such as Sedo, Afternic or Dan, the domain is already listed for sale and the marketplace is the right channel. Do not use the registrar abuse contact for purchase enquiries; it is for phishing, malware and trademark complaints.

Lookups on this page query public registry and DNS data. Nothing about the domain you type is stored, and the domain owner is not notified.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is WHOIS?
WHOIS is a query and response protocol used to look up information about domain name registrations. It shows who registered a domain, when it was registered, when it expires, the registrar used, and the name servers assigned to the domain.
Why is WHOIS information hidden for some domains?
Many domain owners use WHOIS privacy protection to hide their personal contact information. Additionally, GDPR regulations in Europe require registrars to redact personal data from WHOIS records by default.
How can I find the owner of a domain?
Use a WHOIS lookup to find the registrant details. However, if privacy protection is enabled, you will see the privacy service's details instead. You can try contacting the domain through the registrar's abuse contact.

Domain and network questions, answered

Questions this lookup answers in full, with the reference tables.

For teams, not just visitors

Need these checks inside your own product?

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