The free WHOIS Lookup shows the public registration record of a domain. Enter a domain name and the tool returns its WHOIS details, including the registrar, the creation and expiry dates, the name servers, the domain status, and registrant details, depending on what the registry for that extension publishes (the .com, .net and .org registries publish none). For some extensions, such as .com, .net and .org, the tool reads the registry's WHOIS service each time you look up a domain. For others, such as .pro, .dev, .app and .co.uk, it reads the registry's RDAP service instead, and that answer can be up to 12 hours old.
WHOIS is the public directory of domain registrations. Every registered domain has a record showing which registrar it was registered through and when, and sometimes the registrant, along with technical details like name servers. Looking up a WHOIS record is the standard way to find the basic facts about a domain.
How to Do a WHOIS Lookup
- Enter a domain. Type the domain name you want to look up.
- Click Get Records. The tool reads the registry's WHOIS or RDAP record and looks up the domain's DNS records.
- Read the details. See the registrar, dates, name servers, status, and any public registrant information.
What a WHOIS Record Shows
A WHOIS record contains several useful fields. The registrar is the company the domain was registered through. The creation date tells you how long the current registration has existed, and the expiry date shows when the registration lapses unless renewed. Name servers indicate where the domain's DNS is hosted, which is not always the company that hosts the website. The status field shows any locks or holds on the domain. Which of these fields appear depends on the extension, because some registries publish only a few of them. Together they give a picture of a domain's current registration.
A Note on Private Registrations
You will often see registrant contact details hidden or replaced with a privacy service rather than a name and address. This is normal and expected. Many registrars offer privacy protection, and data protection rules such as GDPR lead to personal contact information being redacted from public WHOIS records. When you see this, it does not mean the lookup failed; it means the owner's personal details are protected. The registrar, dates, name servers, and status are still shown wherever the registry publishes them. For .com, .net and .org the lookup reads the registry's own record, which holds no registrant details at all, so none appear whether or not privacy protection is on.
When to Use a WHOIS Lookup
- Checking a domain's age. See the creation date of the current registration, where the registry publishes one.
- Finding the registrar. Identify which company a domain is registered through.
- Checking expiry. See when a domain's registration is due to lapse.
- Researching a domain. Gather the basic registration facts before buying or dealing with a site.
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For more on a domain, check its age, find its hosting and registrar, or look up its DNS records.
