Dev Tool

WHOIS Lookup

Find registration information for any domain — registrar, creation date, expiry and nameservers.

Data sourced from RDAP (Registration Data Access Protocol) — the modern successor to WHOIS.

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What is WHOIS?

WHOIS is a protocol for querying databases that store registered domain owners, registrars, and technical contacts. RDAP is its modern, structured replacement.

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Common uses

Checking if a domain is available, finding the registrar to report abuse, verifying domain ownership, or checking expiry before purchasing a domain.

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Privacy protection

Many domain owners use WHOIS privacy protection to hide personal details. This is normal and legal — the registrar holds the actual owner data.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does WHOIS show privacy-protected?

Domain registrars offer WHOIS privacy services that replace personal contact details with the registrar's proxy information. Most registrars provide this free since GDPR. It hides the owner's name, email and phone number.

What is RDAP?

RDAP (Registration Data Access Protocol) is the modern replacement for the traditional WHOIS protocol. It returns structured JSON data, supports internationalised domain names, and provides more consistent results across registrars.

Can I find out who owns a domain?

If the domain uses WHOIS privacy, you cannot see the owner's personal details directly. You can contact the registrar to report abuse and they will forward your message to the owner.