WHOIS Lookup — Domain Registration & Expiry Details
Who registered a domain, when it expires, and where it's managed.
🔗 Your browser cannot speak the WHOIS protocol (TCP port 43), so the query runs from our server: IANA names the registry for the domain ending, the registry answers — and for .com/.net the registrar's own server is asked too. Results are cached for an hour. Limited to 10 lookups per minute.
Raw WHOIS record
Look up a domain's registration record: the registrar it's managed through, when it was first registered, when it expires, its status codes and its nameservers — plus the full raw WHOIS text underneath.
The lookup follows the real WHOIS referral chain: IANA names the registry for the domain ending, the registry answers, and for endings like .com the registrar's own server is asked too, because that's where the complete record lives.
How to use WHOIS Lookup
- Enter a domain name — just the domain, like example.com.
- Click Look up WHOIS. The summary shows registrar, registration date, expiry and days remaining.
- Check the detail rows for nameservers, status codes and DNSSEC.
- Read the raw record if you need the exact registry text.
What the status codes mean
The EPP status lines are the most useful and least readable part of a WHOIS record:
- clientTransferProhibited — transfer-locked at the registrar. Normal, and good: it's the standard protection against domain hijacking.
- clientHold / serverHold — the domain is suspended and won't resolve. Often unpaid renewal or an abuse action; either way, something is wrong.
- pendingDelete / redemptionPeriod — the domain is expiring out of registration. redemptionPeriod means the original owner can still recover it (for a fee); pendingDelete means it will drop within days.
- ok / active — nothing special is happening.
Why most records show privacy services now
Since GDPR, registrant names, emails and addresses are redacted or replaced by a privacy service in most WHOIS output. That's not the domain owner hiding — it's the default. The fields that still carry real signal are the dates, the registrar, the status codes and the nameservers.
Checking if a domain is available
If the registry reports no record, the domain is probably available to register. Two cautions: some registries rate-limit or hide records rather than confirm absence, and a domain in redemptionPeriod or pendingDelete shows a record while being on its way out — the status codes tell that story.
Expiry is worth watching
Companies genuinely lose domains to missed renewals — the email went to an ex-employee, the card expired. If the summary here shows under 30 days on a domain you depend on, that's worth a message to whoever manages it today, not next month.
Frequently asked questions
Why doesn't WHOIS show the owner's name anymore?
Privacy rules — GDPR above all — made registries and registrars redact personal data in 2018, and most domains also use a registrar's privacy service. This is now the default for everyone, not a sign of anything to hide. Dates, registrar, status and nameservers remain the informative fields.
How do I contact a domain's owner then?
Through the redirection the record itself offers: most privacy services list a forwarding email or a web contact form in the raw record, and registrars accept abuse reports at the address shown. For a purchase enquiry, a broker or the registrar's own contact path is the realistic route.
Does checking WHOIS tell me if a domain is available?
Mostly. "No match" from the registry usually means available. But watch the status codes on domains that do have records: redemptionPeriod and pendingDelete mean the domain is on its way out of registration and may become available within weeks.
What does clientTransferProhibited mean?
The registrar has locked the domain against transfers — the normal, recommended state. It prevents hijacking by transfer request, and the owner can unlock it any time an intentional transfer is planned.
Why do .com lookups mention two servers?
.com and .net are "thin" registries: Verisign's registry record holds only dates, status and a pointer to the registrar's own WHOIS server, where the full record lives. This tool queries both and shows the registrar's version when it answers.
Why does a country domain show so little?
Each country registry runs its own WHOIS policy; some (.de, for instance) publish almost nothing over port 43 and direct you to a web form. When that's the case here, the raw response says so — it's the registry's policy, not a lookup failure.