Free · live registry data · no login
WHOIS Lookup
Registrar, dates, status codes and contacts (where public) for any domain.
How it works
WHOIS lookup: registrar, dates, status and contacts for any domain
Enter a domain and we query the registry's RDAP service, the protocol that officially replaced WHOIS for every gTLD in 2025. You get the registrar, registration and expiry dates, EPP status codes explained in plain English, nameservers, DNSSEC state and whatever contact data the registry still publishes. Since GDPR most registrant names are redacted; we tell you when that is the case instead of showing you a blank form.
Results appear here after you click Look up WHOIS.
How this works
- 1
Find the RDAP server
rdap.org reads the IANA bootstrap file and forwards the query to the registry (or registrar) responsible for the extension.
- 2
Parse the record
We pull events (registration, expiry, last change), entities (registrar, registrant), status codes, nameservers and the DNSSEC flag.
- 3
Cross-check DNS
A live NS query over DNS-over-HTTPS confirms whether the registry's delegation matches what the internet actually sees.
Frequently asked questions
- Is this a WHOIS lookup or an RDAP lookup?
- Both, in effect. ICANN retired the WHOIS protocol requirement for gTLDs in January 2025 and RDAP is now the authoritative source; it returns the same registrar, date and status fields in structured JSON. Browsers cannot open port 43, so an RDAP query is the only way to do a true live lookup client-side.
- Why is the owner's name hidden?
- Since GDPR (2018) and ICANN's Temporary Specification, registrars redact personal data of registrants by default, and most also offer free WHOIS privacy. You will usually see 'REDACTED FOR PRIVACY' or nothing at all. The registrar, dates and status are still public.
- How do I contact the owner of a domain?
- Most registrars provide a web form or an anonymised forwarding email on their own WHOIS page. If the domain has a working website, try its contact page first. For a purchase offer, domain brokers and marketplaces such as Sedo or Afternic also forward enquiries.
- Why does a .de, .ng or other country-code domain return no record?
- A handful of ccTLD registries have not deployed RDAP and only answer over the legacy WHOIS port, which a browser cannot reach. For those, use the registry's own website (for example denic.de or nira.org.ng) to look the domain up.
- What do clientTransferProhibited and the other status codes mean?
- They are EPP status codes set by the registrar (client…) or the registry (server…). Transfer, delete and update prohibitions are normal protective locks; hold, redemptionPeriod and pendingDelete mean something is wrong. Each code on this page is decoded below the record, and our Status Code Decoder covers the full list.
Every MailShrine domain includes WHOIS privacy, transfer lock, Anycast DNS with DNSSEC and two business mailboxes.