WHOIS lookup: who registered a domain, and when (via RDAP)
A WHOIS lookup returns a domain's public registration record: its registrar, when it was registered and expires, its status codes and name servers. This tool reads it over RDAP, the protocol that replaced WHOIS for generic top-level domains, straight from the registry's server. Registrant contacts are usually redacted for privacy, so they're hidden until you ask.
Public RDAP data from the domain’s registry (and its registrar, where linked). Contact details are hidden until you choose to show them. 10 lookups a minute.
Sample result
acme.example was registered in August 1995 and expires on 13 August 2027.
- Domain
- acme.example
- Registrar
- Example Registrar, ID 9999
- Registered
- 14 Aug 1995
What this means for you
Shows how established a domain is and when it lapses, before you trust or buy it.
- Registry record, then the linked registrar
- Creation, expiry and last-updated dates
- EPP status, name servers and DNSSEC
- Contact records hidden until you ask
- WHOIS
- RDAP
- Registrar
By SimpleVerifier Team · Last updated
How do I look up a domain's WHOIS record?
- Enter a domain such as example.com. A URL or email address is trimmed to the registrable domain.
- Press Look up WHOIS. The tool finds the registry for the TLD in IANA's RDAP directory and asks it, then the registrar's server where the registry links to one.
- Read the registrar, dates, status codes, name servers and DNSSEC. Contacts stay hidden until you choose to show what was published.
- If the TLD has no RDAP service, follow the link to IANA's page for the registry's own WHOIS server.
Example
- You enter
- The domain
acme.example, or a URL or address at it. - You get
- Record found: registrar Example Registrar, Inc. (IANA ID 9999), registered 14 August 1995, expires 13 August 2027, status client delete and transfer prohibited, DNSSEC signed. Contacts stay hidden until you choose to show them.
- Limits
- One domain per lookup and 10 lookups a minute per connection. TLDs without RDAP report that the record couldn't be determined.
What is WHOIS lookup used for?
To see who a domain is registered through and its key dates: checking how old a prospect's or sender's domain is, when a domain you own expires, which registrar to contact about abuse, or whether a domain is locked against transfer. Sales and security teams use the dates as a quick trust signal, because a domain registered last week deserves more caution than one registered in 2007.
It rarely tells you a person's name any more. Since GDPR, most registrars redact registrant contact data or replace it with a privacy service, so the record names the registrar and an anonymised address. That's why this tool hides contacts by default and shows the registrar's abuse contact, which is public by design.
What is RDAP, and does WHOIS still work?
RDAP (Registration Data Access Protocol) is WHOIS's replacement: the same registration data, served as structured JSON over HTTPS, defined in RFC 9082 and RFC 9083. IANA publishes which RDAP server answers for each TLD (RFC 9224), which is how this tool finds the right registry without guessing.
Old-style WHOIS is fading for generic TLDs. ICANN says all gTLD registries and registrars must provide RDAP, and that as of 28 January 2025 they're no longer required to provide WHOIS (with exceptions for .com, .name and .post). Many country-code TLDs set their own rules, which is the main gap.
How do I find out who owns a domain?
Start with a WHOIS or RDAP lookup; if the registrant is redacted, as it usually is, the record still names the registrar. Registrars have their own procedures for legitimate requests to reach the registrant, often a contact form that forwards your message, and ICANN-accredited registrars must publish an abuse contact for reports of spam, phishing or malware.
The website itself is often faster: its imprint, contact page or privacy policy usually names the company. For email-specific questions, the email provider lookup shows who hosts the domain's mail, and the domain age checker compares up to ten domains' registration dates at once.
Why does a WHOIS lookup say a TLD isn't supported?
Because some country-code registries, among them .io and .de when we checked, publish no RDAP service in IANA's directory. Rather than fall back to a third-party mirror that can answer "not found" for registered domains, this tool says it couldn't determine the record, reports whether the domain has name servers in DNS, and links to IANA's root zone database page for the registry, which lists its WHOIS server.
WHOIS or RDAP: what's the difference?
| RDAP (this tool) | Classic WHOIS | |
|---|---|---|
| Format | Structured JSON over HTTPS | Free text over port 43 |
| Finding the right server | IANA bootstrap file | Varies by TLD |
| Required for gTLDs | Yes | No, since 28 January 2025 (except .com, .name, .post) |
| Country-code TLDs | Where the registry offers it | Most still offer it |
Who uses this tool, and for what?
- Sales and SDRs
- Check a prospect's domain age and registrar before outreach; a days-old domain may not be a real company yet.
- Security and IT
- Find the registrar and abuse contact for a phishing or lookalike domain, and see when it was registered.
- Domain owners
- Confirm your expiry date, transfer lock and name servers after a registrar move.
- Cold emailers
- Check your own new sending domains' registration dates and DNSSEC before warming them up.
What can’t this tool tell you?
- It reads RDAP only; for ccTLDs without RDAP (such as .io and .de when checked) it reports "couldn't determine" rather than guess.
- Registrant contacts are usually redacted or a privacy service; this tool can't reveal what the registry doesn't publish.
- A registry "not found" isn't proof a domain is available to buy.
- Ownership history isn't included, only the current record.
Common questions
- How do I do a WHOIS lookup?
- Enter the domain above and press Look up WHOIS; the record comes from the registry's RDAP server. On Mac or Linux, the whois command (whois example.com) queries the old WHOIS service where it still exists.
- What is WHOIS lookup?
- A query for a domain's public registration record: registrar, registration and expiry dates, status codes and name servers, plus contact details where they aren't redacted.
- What is RDAP?
- The Registration Data Access Protocol, the IETF standard that replaced WHOIS. It serves the same data as JSON over HTTPS, and ICANN requires it of all gTLD registries and registrars.
- Is WHOIS information public?
- The registrar, dates, status and name servers are. Personal contact details mostly aren't any more: registrars redact them or substitute a privacy service, largely because of GDPR.
- Does WHOIS still work?
- Partly. Since 28 January 2025 gTLD registries and registrars no longer have to run WHOIS (except .com, .name and .post), and RDAP is the supported route. Many ccTLDs still run WHOIS only.
- What is WHOIS privacy?
- A registrar service that publishes its own or a proxy's details in place of yours. Email to the published address is usually forwarded to the real registrant.
Sources
You audited one domain. Cold outreach means thousands.
This tool checks a domain you type in. It will not tell you which addresses at that domain are real.
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