How to Check What a Domain's Status Codes Mean (clientHold, redemptionPeriod and More)

To check what a domain's status codes mean, read the status values in its registry record and look each one up. The domain status code checker reads them from the registry's RDAP server for up to 100 domains a run (500 after a free Google sign-in), explains each code, says who set it, and reads each domain as Normal, Needs a look, On hold or Being deleted.

It reads public registry records. Nothing is sent to the domain itself.

The by-hand way

1. Run a WHOIS or RDAP lookup on the domain and find the status lines.
2. Note each code. A domain usually carries several at once.
3. Look them up in ICANN's EPP status codes page. Codes starting with client are set by the registrar. Codes starting with server are set by the registry and take priority.

The meanings are all published, but memorising them is a poor use of an afternoon.

Step 1: paste the domains

Paste domains, one per line. Addresses and URLs work, and subdomains are reduced to the registered name. Up to 100 a run without an account, 500 after a free Google sign-in.

Step 2: run the check

Each domain's record is read from its registry's RDAP server, 20 at a time. RDAP writes the same codes as words, such as "client transfer prohibited", and the checker reads both forms.

Step 3: read each reading

Codes you may see	What they mean	Reading
ok, clientTransferProhibited, clientUpdateProhibited, clientDeleteProhibited	Normal registrar locks, or no restrictions	Normal
autoRenewPeriod, pendingTransfer, clientRenewProhibited	Worth a look. For example, a transfer you did not start should be rejected	Needs a look
clientHold, serverHold	The domain is taken out of DNS, so its site and email stop	On hold
redemptionPeriod, pendingRestore, pendingDelete	Expired and being deleted	Being deleted

Filter the CSV for On hold and Being deleted to find domains that do not resolve or are about to be released.

Why this matters for email

Domains on hold or being deleted do not resolve, so mail to every address on them bounces. Removing them from a list first saves the bounces. See finding expired domains on an email list and reading who a domain is registered with. For which domains can move registrars, see the domain transfer checker.

What this check cannot do

• It reads the registry record. A registrar's reason for a hold is not in it, so the meanings give the usual causes.
• Extensions whose registry publishes no RDAP show unknown.
• Country-code registries may use their own codes or timings. Unfamiliar codes are shown as published.
• The limit is 100 domains a run without an account and 500 signed in.

Check the addresses on those domains

A domain in good standing still needs a real mailbox. Upload your list on the verify page: the first 100 email checks are free with a Google sign-in, no card. Each address comes back valid, risky or invalid with a reason, and nothing is sent to anyone on the list. For larger or recurring lists, see bulk email verification, list cleaning and pricing.

Check your domains now

Paste them into the domain status code checker.