WHOIS Lookup

Look up a domain's registration details: which registrar manages it, when it was registered, when it expires, which nameservers it uses, and what status codes the registry has applied.

Results come from RDAP, the structured protocol that has replaced classic WHOIS at most registries — so the data comes from the registry itself rather than a scraped and cached copy.

How it works

Every registered domain has a record held by its registry and managed through a registrar. RDAP (Registration Data Access Protocol) is the modern way to read it: structured JSON, served by the registries directly, replacing the free-text WHOIS format that every provider parsed slightly differently.

Registrant details are mostly hidden now, and that is expected. Since GDPR, registries redact personal contact information for most domains, and many registrars offer privacy protection that replaces the owner's details with a proxy service. Seeing "REDACTED FOR PRIVACY" does not mean anything is wrong. What remains visible — registrar, dates, nameservers, status — is usually what you actually need.

The status codes are the most useful and least understood part. They are EPP codes, and they tell you what the domain can and cannot do:

• clientTransferProhibited — a transfer lock. Almost always present and desirable; you clear it deliberately when moving registrar.
• clientHold / serverHold — the domain has been pulled from the zone and will not resolve at all, regardless of DNS configuration. Usually non-payment or a compliance issue.
• redemptionPeriod — it expired and is in the recovery window. Still recoverable, normally at a significant fee, for around 30 days.
• pendingDelete — the recovery window has closed. The domain will be released for public registration within a few days.
• inactive — no nameservers are set, so nothing resolves.

If a site is down and DNS looks correct, check the status codes here first — a clientHold explains it instantly and no amount of DNS debugging will.

Frequently asked questions