Whois lookup: registrar, creation and expiry date
We read the public RDAP record for the registrable domain: registrar, creation and expiry dates, status, and name servers. A personal name is usually redacted, and this page does not show one.
Free, no signup, usually a few seconds.
You will see: registered or free, the domain's age, its expiry date and registrar.
How this check works
We look up the registrable domain, not every subdomain. www.shop.example.com is queried as example.com. For a short list of two-label suffixes, including co.il, co.uk, and com.au, we keep three labels, so shop.co.il stays shop.co.il.
The lookup is RDAP, not the older whois protocol on port 43. The IANA bootstrap file names the registry's RDAP server for that suffix. If the suffix is not in that file, the result says there is no public RDAP service, and we stop. We do not guess, and we do not fall back to port 43. If the registry does not answer, or answers with an error, the result is Failed. That does not mean the domain is free. A not-found answer from a registry that does publish RDAP means the domain is not registered.
From a record we show the creation date (the registration event), the expiry (the expiration event), and an updated date: last changed, or the last update of the RDAP database when there is no last-changed event. Age and days until expiry are counted from those dates to today. A date already past is marked expired. Fewer than 30 days left is marked as expiring soon.
The registrar is the entity whose role is registrar: its name, or its handle, or a nested contact name. The registrant is not shown, even when the record still has one. Up to 12 status codes are listed. Common ones are translated, so clientTransferProhibited becomes "Locked against transfer (normal)". Any other code is shown as the registry sent it. Up to 10 name servers are taken from the record. They can differ from what DNS answers right now. DNSSEC is only whether the delegation is signed. We do not validate the chain.
How to read the result
"Registered" means the registry returned a record. The headline adds the age when a creation date is present, names an expiry that has passed, and warns when fewer than 30 days remain. "Not registered" means the registry said the name is free or deleted. "No RDAP" means this suffix has no public RDAP service. "Failed" means the registry did not answer, and it says nothing about whether the name is taken.
Under the headline: the domain we queried, the creation date, the expiry, and the registrar. The technical fold lists name servers, DNSSEC (Signed or Not signed), the status line, and the updated date.
example.com is a reserved name. The dates and the registrar below are made up. Nothing here was looked up.
- Headline
- Registered
- What it means
- The registration runs until 2028-04-02.
- Domain
- example.com
- Registered
- 2022-04-02
- Expires
- 2028-04-02
- Registrar
- Example Registrar, Inc.
- Name servers
- ns1.example-dns.test, ns2.example-dns.test
- DNSSEC
- Not signed
- Status
- Locked against transfer (normal)
- Updated
- 2025-04-02
When it is useful
See when a registration expires, before the name drops. See which registrar holds it before a transfer. The transfer code is not in the public record. The registrar is who can give you that.
Find a company to write to about an abusive domain. The person who registered it is usually hidden, so the registrar is the contact the record still names.
A very new creation date is one clue when a shop looks wrong. Pair it with is it safe. Age is not proof of anything by itself.
The name servers here are the ones on the registration. Confirm the live records with the DNS lookup. Who answers for the website is a different question: that is the hosting checker. The SSL checker reads the certificate, and is it down checks whether the site answers.
What this cannot tell you
There is no owner name. Registries redact it, and this page does not print a registrant field even when one is still in the record.
A suffix with no RDAP service, which includes many country codes, comes back as No RDAP. .il is one of those. A failed lookup is not "available". We do not sell domains and we do not show prices.
Status codes we do not recognise are shown as sent. The name servers are the registration's list, not a live DNS query. A repeat of the same domain within ten minutes returns the saved result.
Common questions
Why is there no owner name?
Since 2018 most registrars hide the registrant's name and address. This check would not show that name anyway: it reads the registrar, the dates, the status codes, the name servers, and whether DNSSEC is signed.
What is RDAP, and why not plain whois?
RDAP is the standard that replaced the old whois protocol: the same data, in a structured format, straight from the registry. Some country suffixes, including .il, do not run RDAP yet, and then the check says so.
Is the domain available?
If the record says the domain is not registered, you can try to register it at any registrar. A failed lookup is not a free name. This check does not sell domains and does not compare prices.
What does "Locked against transfer" mean?
That is the usual clientTransferProhibited status. The registrar sets it so the domain cannot be transferred out by accident. It does not mean the website is broken. Pending deletion and redemption period mean the registration has lapsed.
The result says this suffix has no RDAP service. What now?
The registry for that suffix is not in the public RDAP bootstrap, so we stop instead of guessing. Country suffixes such as .il are the usual case. The registry's own site is where that record is published. This check does not fall back to the old whois protocol.
Do the name servers tell me who hosts the website?
No. Name servers say who answers DNS for the domain. That is often a DNS host or a CDN, not the company that stores the site. The hosting checker reads the IP address and the network that owns it.
Is there a limit?
Up to 20 checks an hour from one connection, with no account. A result is kept for ten minutes, so checking the same address twice returns the saved one.