Free WHOIS Lookup

Summary

A WHOIS lookup shows the public registration record of a domain name: its registrar, when it was created and when it expires, its name servers and its status codes. To check one for free, type a domain such as example.com into the box and press Lookup. The tool uses RDAP, the structured protocol that replaced WHOIS, and reads the record from the domain's registry.

Unlike our browser-only tools, a lookup cannot run on your device. When you press Lookup, click a Try link or press Look up … instead, the domain name goes to our server. It asks rdap.org where the registry for that ending is, then requests the record from that registry. We do not save your lookups. Registration data is public, so the registry may log the query and, because our server runs on Cloudflare, may see your IP address.

Table of Use: What to Enter and Where to Read the Answer

Common status values, with the wording the tool shows beside each:

Features of the WHOIS Lookup

• Domain or URL input: the tool keeps just the host name, so a pasted address with a path works, and a leading www. is dropped with a note.
• Registration summary: a Registered badge, the domain name, and Created, Updated and Expires dates in UTC so the day never shifts with your time zone.
• Days until expiry in green above 90 days, orange from 31 to 90 and red at 30 or fewer; once past, it reads days since expiry.
• Registrar, IANA ID and DNSSEC in one card, with the data source named as RDAP via rdap.org.
• Name servers and status codes listed individually, with a copy button on each name server and a plain-English explanation under each known status.
• Registrant name or organization when the registry publishes one; otherwise a notice that it is private or not available.
• Helpful failures: an IP address is turned away with a pointer to the IP address lookup, and a subdomain with no record offers a one-click lookup of its registered domain.

It does not return the raw port-43 WHOIS text, historical records, bulk results or contact email addresses, and it cannot tell you the price of a domain or register one. Lookups are limited to about 30 a minute per visitor, and a slow or unavailable registry gives an error you can retry.

How to Use the WHOIS Lookup

1. Type a domain into the box that reads Enter domain (e.g., example.com), or click one of the Try links: google.com, wikipedia.org or github.com.
2. Press Lookup. The button reads Looking up… until the registry answers.
3. Read the Created, Updated and Expires dates and the expiry badge, then the Registrar, Registrant, Name Servers and Domain Status cards.
4. Use the copy buttons for the registrar and each name server. If a subdomain shows No record found, press the Look up … instead button that offers its registered domain.

Who Can Use It

Domain owners and IT admins check the expiry date before a renewal slips by, or confirm the name servers before a DNS change. To see the records those name servers actually serve, use the DNS lookup tool, and to check the certificate on the same domain, the SSL certificate checker.

Buyers and researchers read the Created date to judge how long a domain has existed; the date difference calculator turns two dates into days, and the countdown timer can count down to an expiry date you want to watch. Security and abuse teams use the registrar and IANA ID to find who to contact; pair it with the IP address lookup when you start from a server address, and the HTTP header viewer to see how the site responds.

Anyone cleaning a mailing list can look up a suspicious sender domain here, then check addresses with the email validator. Developers who see an unfamiliar client in their logs can identify it with the user agent parser.

FAQs

How do I look up who a domain is registered with?

Type the domain name, for example example.com, and press Lookup. You can paste a full URL instead; the tool keeps only the domain and drops a leading "www.". The result shows the registrar and its IANA ID, the created, updated and expiry dates, the days left until expiry, the name servers, the status codes with plain-English explanations, and whether DNSSEC is signed.

What is RDAP and how is it different from WHOIS?

RDAP (Registration Data Access Protocol) is the IETF standard that replaced the old WHOIS protocol. It returns structured JSON instead of free-form text and supports international domain names. ICANN announced that from 28 January 2025 RDAP is the definitive source for generic top-level domain data and ended the general requirement to run WHOIS, though some registries still do. This tool queries RDAP.

Why can't I see the owner's name?

Because it is redacted. Since GDPR took effect in 2018, registries and registrars withhold registrant details such as name, email, address and phone from public lookups, and many owners also use a privacy or proxy service. Some organisations still publish a name. As of October 2026, ICANN runs the Registration Data Request Service for asking participating registrars for non-public data.

How do I check when a domain expires?

Look up the domain and read Expires, with the badge beside it: green above 90 days, orange from 31 to 90, red at 30 or fewer, and "days since expiry" once the date has passed. Dates are UTC, as the registry publishes them. A domain close to expiry may already be set to auto-renew, and the registry often shows the new date only after the renewal is processed.

Why does a subdomain show "No record found"?

Registration records exist only for registered domains such as google.com, not for subdomains such as mail.google.com, which the domain owner creates in their own DNS. The tool removes a leading "www." automatically and, when a subdomain has no record, offers to look up the registered domain it belongs to, such as google.com or example.co.uk.

Does "No record found" mean the domain is available?

Often, but not always. It means the registry's RDAP service has no record for that name. Some country-code domains do not offer a public RDAP service, and some names are reserved or blocked by the registry without being registered. Check with a registrar before you rely on a name being available; this tool cannot register or reserve a domain.

What does clientTransferProhibited mean in a domain lookup?

It means the registrar has locked the domain against transfer to another registrar. RDAP shows it as "client transfer prohibited", and many registrars set it by default as protection against hijacking. You unlock the domain at your registrar when you want to move it. Similar "client delete prohibited" and "client update prohibited" statuses block deletion and changes to contacts or name servers.

What does the WHOIS lookup send, and is it private?

Only the domain name you enter, and only when you press Lookup, click a Try link or press Look up … instead. Your browser sends it to our /api/whois function. Our server asks rdap.org which registry holds that ending, follows its redirect and requests the record from that registry (for .com, Verisign). Our code adds only a ZipConvert User-Agent header, but Cloudflare, which runs our server, may pass your IP address on to the registry. We save no lookups, only a per-IP counter capping them at 30 a minute.