Domain Whois Lookup
Validate a domain and jump to Whois and ICP filing lookups.
Domain Whois Lookup online
Look up a domain's registration record — registrar, creation and expiry dates, status and nameservers — through RDAP, the official registry data protocol that is replacing classic WHOIS.
How to use this tool
- Enter a domain name such as example.com.
- Click Run Tool. The record is fetched from the registry's RDAP service and presented in readable form.
- Check the expiry date and status first; they are the two fields that bite.
Common uses
Checking when a domain you want might expire, confirming your own domain's renewal date and registrar before a transfer, verifying a partner's domain is real and established, and investigating a suspicious site's registration age.
How it works
The lookup queries rdap.org, which routes to the authoritative RDAP server for the domain's registry. RDAP returns structured data — registrar name, registration/expiry/update dates, domain status codes and nameservers — rather than the free-text blocks of legacy WHOIS. Since GDPR-era redaction, registrant personal details are normally hidden in public records worldwide; what remains visible is the operational data shown here.
Worked example
For example.com the record shows a creation date in 1995, the registrar (ICANN itself, for this reserved name) and an expiry a year out — a healthy posture. Contrast a domain expiring in 9 days with status clientHold: that combination means trouble, usually a lapsed renewal or a legal/registry action, and the site's disappearance is a matter of days.
Privacy and browser processing
The query is sent to the public RDAP service (rdap.org) over HTTPS; nothing is stored by this site.
Frequently asked questions
Why is the owner's name and email hidden?
Privacy law and registry policy. Most registries now redact registrant contact data in public RDAP/WHOIS responses; the registrar holds the real data and there are formal channels (law enforcement, UDRP) for legitimate requests.
What do status codes like clientTransferProhibited mean?
They are EPP status codes — locks and states on the domain. clientTransferProhibited is a normal protective lock. The worrying ones are serverHold/clientHold (domain suspended from DNS) and pendingDelete (about to drop and become re-registerable).
Why did my .cn / .io / small-TLD lookup fail?
RDAP coverage is not universal: some country-code and smaller registries still do not publish an RDAP service, so there is no endpoint to query. For those, the registry's own legacy WHOIS page remains the source.
Can I rely on the expiry date shown?
It is the registry's own figure, so yes for planning — but remember auto-renew grace periods: a domain can show "expired" yet be renewed by its owner within the grace window, and an unexpired date does not guarantee the site stays up if the registrar account fails.
Is my lookup logged?
Your query goes to rdap.org and the registry's RDAP server, which see the domain you asked about. Nothing is stored by this site.