WHOIS lookup
Check a domain's registrar, dates, status and name servers — via modern RDAP.
Queries are proxied through our server and never stored.
How to do a WHOIS lookup
- Enter a domain. Type a domain like example.com (no http:// needed).
- Run the lookup. We fetch the public RDAP registration record for that domain.
- Review the record. See the registrar, key dates, status codes and name servers.
What WHOIS tells you
Every registered domain has a public registration record, and a WHOIS lookup is how you read it. It answers the practical questions that come up when you're buying a name, auditing one you own, or vetting a domain before a transfer or acquisition: which registrar manages it, when it was first registered, when it expires, whether it's locked, and which name servers are authoritative for it. This tool queries that record over RDAP — the Registration Data Access Protocol — the standardized, structured successor to the old free-text WHOIS, so the fields come back consistently no matter which registry operates the TLD.
Reading the record
A typical result has a few key parts. Registrar is the company the domain is registered through (where you'd go to renew or transfer it). The Created / Updated / Expires dates track its lifecycle — the expiry date is the one to watch if you're chasing a renewal or waiting for a name to drop. Name servers tell you whose DNS is authoritative, which often reveals the hosting or DNS provider. DNSSEC shows whether the domain's DNS responses are cryptographically signed. And the status codes describe locks and lifecycle states.
EPP status codes, decoded
The status field uses ICANN's EPP codes, and they trip people up because many sound alarming but are
routine. clientTransferProhibited and clientUpdateProhibited are normal
protective locks a registrar sets to stop unauthorized transfers or changes — a sign of good hygiene, not
a problem. ok (sometimes shown as active) means no restrictions are in place.
The codes that signal a domain is leaving its owner's hands are the lifecycle ones:
autoRenewPeriod, then redemptionPeriod (expired but still recoverable by the
owner, usually for a fee), then pendingDelete (about to be released to the public). Reading
those alongside the expiry date tells you exactly where a name sits in its life.
Why contact details are usually hidden
You'll rarely see a registrant's name or email today. Two things redact them: most registrars include free WHOIS privacy that substitutes proxy contact details, and since GDPR, registries withhold personal data by default for domains tied to individuals. That's by design — the registrar, dates, status and name servers stay public because they're operationally useful, while personal data is protected. To go further, pair this with a DNS lookup to see where the domain actually points, or an SSL check to inspect its certificate.
Frequently asked questions
- It shows the public registration record for a domain — the registrar, creation and expiry dates, status codes and name servers. We query it over RDAP, the modern structured replacement for legacy WHOIS.
- WHOIS is the original, free-text protocol from the 1980s — every registry formatted its output differently, so it was hard to parse reliably. RDAP (Registration Data Access Protocol) is its standardized successor: it returns the same registration data as structured JSON over HTTPS, with consistent fields and built-in support for redaction and internationalization. This tool uses RDAP, so results are uniform across registries.
- Most registrars apply privacy protection, and since GDPR took effect registries redact personal contact data by default, so registrant name, email and address are usually withheld. The registrar, lifecycle dates, status codes and name servers remain public.
- It works for any TLD that publishes RDAP, which is now the majority including .com, .net, .org and most new gTLDs. A few country-code registries are not yet on RDAP and may return no data.
- Codes like clientTransferProhibited or pendingDelete are EPP status codes defined by ICANN; they describe locks and lifecycle states. "Prohibited" codes are usually protective — clientTransferProhibited, for instance, is a normal lock that prevents an unauthorized transfer, not a problem. pendingDelete or redemptionPeriod, by contrast, mean the domain is in its deletion lifecycle.
- The Expires date is the registry expiry. After it passes a domain typically enters a grace period, then redemptionPeriod (recoverable by the owner at a premium), then pendingDelete (about to be released). The status codes plus the expiry date together tell you whether a name is safely registered, renewable, or close to becoming available.
- Your query is sent to our server, which fetches the public RDAP record and returns it. We do not store searches — nothing about the lookup is saved on our side.