WHOIS lookup
Read public registration records for a domain or IP, including the provider, nameservers, published dates, and status.
Quick start
- Enter a domain or public IP.
- Read its registration details.
- Confirm current status with the responsible provider.
WHOIS support
This implementation queries WHOIS using IANA referral information. RDAP lookup is not implemented. Providers that restrict or discontinue WHOIS may not return a result.
A failed lookup does not mean the domain is available to register. Confirm availability and renewal state with a registrar.
Common domain statuses
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| clientTransferProhibited | A registrar-side transfer lock, often used for security. |
| clientHold / serverHold | The registrar or registry has suspended DNS publication. Ask that provider for the reason. |
| redemptionPeriod | A recovery procedure may be available; fees and deadlines depend on the registry. |
| pendingDelete | Deletion is pending. For gTLDs such as .com this usually lasts 5 days before deletion, but when the name can be registered again depends on the registry. |
Dates and disclosure
Registry and registrar dates can have different meanings. Renewal grace and recovery periods vary by TLD and registrar, so check your registrar’s policy. Domain expiration and certificate expiration are separate.
Contact details may be withheld. An IP registration country may differ from the server’s actual location. Results are cached for up to 6 hours; use the provider’s management interface for current account state.
Looking up RDAP yourself
This tool uses WHOIS, but the same registration data is also available as JSON over RDAP. rdap.org is a bootstrap service that forwards you to the right RDAP server for a domain. The output below looks up the reserved domain example.com.
$ curl -sL https://rdap.org/domain/example.com | python -c "import sys,json; d=json.load(sys.stdin); print(d['ldhName'], d['status']); [print(e['eventAction'], e['eventDate']) for e in d['events']]"
EXAMPLE.COM ['client delete prohibited', 'client transfer prohibited', 'client update prohibited']
registration 1995-08-14T04:00:00Z
expiration 2027-08-13T04:00:00Z
last changed 2026-08-14T08:01:43Z
last update of RDAP database 2026-10-13T03:22:38ZRDAP writes statuses with spaces, such as client transfer prohibited instead of WHOIS’s clientTransferProhibited. Dates are in UTC.
Reading WHOIS date fields
| Field | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Creation Date | When the domain was first registered |
| Registry Expiry Date | The expiry date recorded by the registry |
| Registrar Registration Expiration Date | The expiry date kept by the registrar; right after a renewal it can briefly differ from the registry value |
| Updated Date | When the registration data last changed; not necessarily the renewal date |