WHOIS Lookup

Look up domain registration details, ownership information, nameservers, and expiry dates instantly via the modern RDAP protocol.

What Is WHOIS Lookup?

WHOIS is a protocol used to query registration databases and retrieve information about who registered a domain, when it was registered, and through which registrar. It is one of the most fundamental tools for anyone working with domain names, whether you are buying, selling, or managing them.

Domainwise uses the RDAP protocol (Registration Data Access Protocol), the modern, IETF-standardized successor to legacy WHOIS defined in RFC 7482 and RFC 7483. RDAP delivers structured, machine-readable JSON responses via IANA bootstrap, ensuring you get accurate data from the authoritative registry for each TLD.

A single lookup returns a comprehensive snapshot of a domain's registration record: the registrar responsible for the domain, the original registration date, the expiry date, authoritative nameservers, EPP status codes that indicate transfer locks or deletion holds, and the DNSSEC signing status. This information is invaluable for verifying domain configurations, investigating suspicious domains, or planning a domain purchase.

The tool is completely free, requires no sign-up, and is available in 12 languages. Simply enter a domain name above and get results in seconds. You can also navigate to this page from any other Domainwise tool using the ToolSwitcher pill bar, or arrive here with a pre-filled query via the ?q= parameter from RelatedTools suggestion chips.

What Information Does a WHOIS Lookup Reveal?

Each WHOIS lookup on Domainwise returns a structured set of fields that paint a complete picture of a domain's registration status. Here is what you can expect to find:

• Registrar — The company where the domain is registered (e.g., Cloudflare, Namecheap, GoDaddy). Knowing the registrar is essential for managing renewals and transfers.
• Registration Date — When the domain was first registered. This helps you gauge the domain's history and age, which can be a factor in SEO authority and trustworthiness.
• Expiry Date — When the current registration period ends. Domains that are close to expiry may become available for purchase if the owner does not renew them.
• Nameservers — The authoritative DNS servers handling the domain's records. Verifying nameservers is critical after a hosting or DNS migration.
• EPP Status Codes — Registry-level flags such as clientTransferProhibited or serverDeleteProhibited that indicate whether the domain is locked, pending transfer, or under a legal hold.
• DNSSEC Status — Whether the domain has cryptographic DNS signing enabled, providing an additional layer of security against DNS spoofing attacks.
• Registrant Information — When not privacy-protected, this field shows the organization or individual who owns the domain along with their country.

Want to know exactly how old a domain is? Use our Domain Age Checker for a precise calculation in years and days.

Common WHOIS Use Cases

WHOIS lookups serve a wide range of purposes across different industries and roles. Here are some of the most common scenarios where a WHOIS check proves invaluable:

• Pre-Purchase Research — Before attempting to buy a domain, check its registration status and expiry date. A domain nearing expiry might become available soon, saving you the cost of a premium acquisition.
• Nameserver Verification — After migrating your DNS provider or web hosting, run a WHOIS lookup to confirm your domain's nameservers have been updated correctly at the registry level.
• Security Investigation — Security researchers and IT teams use WHOIS data to investigate phishing domains, identify when suspicious domains were registered, and trace them back to specific registrars.
• DNSSEC Auditing — Confirm that DNSSEC is active on your domains to protect against DNS cache poisoning. If the WHOIS result shows the domain is unsigned, consider enabling DNSSEC with your DNS provider.
• EPP Status Monitoring — Verify that your domains have clientTransferProhibited set to prevent unauthorized transfers. Missing this lock is a common oversight that can lead to domain hijacking.
• Trademark and Legal Compliance — Legal teams look up domains that may infringe on trademarks. The registrant organization and registrar details help initiate dispute resolution through UDRP or other processes.

After reviewing the WHOIS record, check the full DNS configuration with our DNS Lookup tool to see the live records for the same domain.

How Domainwise WHOIS Works

Unlike many WHOIS tools that rely on the legacy text-based WHOIS protocol, Domainwise uses the RDAP protocol — a modern, RESTful alternative standardized by the IETF. RDAP provides several advantages over traditional WHOIS:

• Structured Data — RDAP returns JSON responses with consistent field names, making it easier to parse and display accurate results across all TLDs.
• IANA Bootstrap — Domainwise uses the IANA bootstrap registry to automatically discover the correct RDAP server for each TLD, ensuring queries reach the authoritative source.
• Better Privacy Controls — RDAP natively supports access control and differentiated responses, aligning with modern privacy requirements like GDPR.
• Internationalization — RDAP supports internationalized domain names and contact information natively, making it a better fit for Domainwise's 12-locale interface.

Each lookup is performed server-side with a 6-second timeout and a maximum of 4 concurrent RDAP queries to respect registry rate limits. The IANA bootstrap data is cached for 24 hours to minimize overhead. Results are parsed and displayed in a clean, structured format that surfaces the most important details first.

Related Guides

Deepen your understanding of domain registration and privacy with these articles from the Domainwise knowledge base:

• WHOIS Privacy: Why It Matters — Learn why registrars redact personal data from WHOIS results, how privacy proxy services work, and whether you should enable WHOIS privacy on your own domains.
• Understanding Domain Names — A beginner-friendly guide that explains how domain names work, the role of DNS, TLD categories, and the domain registration lifecycle.

Explore all our free domain tools for a complete toolkit covering WHOIS, DNS, SSL, website status, IP geolocation, Punycode conversion, and social handle checking.