WHOIS Lookup (Domain)
Look up registrar, status, key dates, and nameservers for a domain via the modern RDAP protocol.
Quick answer: Look up registrar, status, key dates, and nameservers for a domain via the modern RDAP protocol.
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Frequently asked questions
- How do I find out who owns a domain?
- Run the lookup. The 'Registrar' field shows who manages the registration. Most registrant contact info is now redacted (see GDPR question below).
- Why is WHOIS contact info redacted?
- Since GDPR (2018), most registrars hide personal contact information from public WHOIS to comply with European privacy law. You can still reach the owner via the registrar's anonymous forwarder.
- What's the difference between registrar and registry?
- The registry runs the TLD (e.g. Verisign for .com). The registrar is who you bought the domain from (Cloudflare, Namecheap, GoDaddy). Registrars resell registry slots.
- How do I check when a domain expires?
- Look at the 'expiration' or 'registration expiration' event date in the result. ICANN-accredited registrars must update this within 24 hours of any change.
- How do I find the nameservers of a domain?
- The result includes a 'Nameservers' panel with every NS the registry has on file. These are the same names you'd see in DNS NS records, ideally.
- Why does WHOIS return an error?
- Some country-code TLDs don't publish RDAP yet, hand-rolled WHOIS servers can be flaky, and very fresh registrations sometimes lag a few minutes. Try again later or check a registrar's own search page.
- Can I do WHOIS for .nl or .com?
- Yes — both are supported via RDAP. .com goes through Verisign; .nl goes through SIDN. The tool finds the right server automatically via rdap.org.
- What is RDAP?
- Registration Data Access Protocol — the IETF-standard, JSON-based replacement for the legacy text-based WHOIS protocol from 1982. It's better-structured, cacheable, and supports authenticated access for verified parties.
- How reliable is WHOIS data?
- Registrar/registry/expiration dates are reliable. Free-text registrant data is increasingly redacted or generic — don't trust it as ground truth.
- Can I export the WHOIS result?
- Open the 'Raw RDAP response' panel and copy the JSON — it includes every field the registry returned, perfect for archiving or scripting.