WHOIS Lookup

Look up domain registration information including owner details, registrar, creation and expiration dates, and nameservers.

What is WHOIS?

WHOIS is a query and response protocol widely used for querying databases that store registered users or assignees of an Internet resource, such as a domain name or an IP address block.

What Information Does WHOIS Provide?

• Domain Name: The registered domain and its status.
• Registrar: The company where the domain was registered.
• Registration Date: When the domain was first registered.
• Expiration Date: When the domain registration expires.
• Name Servers: DNS servers authoritative for the domain.
• Registrant Info: Contact details of the domain owner (often redacted due to privacy laws).
• Domain Status: Codes indicating the domain's current state (e.g., active, locked, pending delete).

Understanding Domain Status Codes

• clientDeleteProhibited: The registrar has locked the domain to prevent deletion.
• clientTransferProhibited: The domain cannot be transferred to another registrar.
• clientUpdateProhibited: The domain cannot be modified.
• serverTransferProhibited: The registry has locked the domain against transfers.
• pendingDelete: The domain is pending deletion.
• redemptionPeriod: The domain is in the redemption grace period after expiration.

How does this tool work?

This tool queries public WHOIS servers to retrieve registration information for domain names and IP addresses. When you enter a domain, it connects to the appropriate registrar's WHOIS server and displays the registration details in a structured format.

For domain lookups, the tool follows the WHOIS referral chain — first checking the registry (e.g., .com registry), then following referrals to the registrar's WHOIS server for complete data.

Why should you use WHOIS lookup?

• Domain research: Check if a domain name is available or already registered.
• Security investigation: Identify who owns a suspicious domain or when it was created.
• Brand protection: Monitor domains similar to your brand that could be used for phishing.
• Technical troubleshooting: Verify DNS delegation and name server configuration.
• Due diligence: Research domain ownership before business transactions.

WHOIS Privacy

Due to privacy regulations like GDPR, many domain registrars now redact personal information from WHOIS records. This means you may see "REDACTED FOR PRIVACY" instead of actual contact details. Some registrars offer WHOIS privacy services as an add-on feature.