WHOIS and RDAP Explained: How to Look Up a Domain's Registrar and Expiry
What WHOIS data shows today, why owner details are hidden, how RDAP replaced WHOIS, and how to check a domain's expiry, registrar and nameservers.
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Every registered domain has a public registration record: who the registrar is, when it was registered, when it expires and which nameservers it uses. Looking it up is the first step when buying a domain, debugging a website, or making sure your own domain doesn't lapse.
WHOIS is now RDAP
The original WHOIS protocol returned free-form text that varied by registry. RDAP (Registration Data Access Protocol) replaces it with structured, machine-readable data over HTTPS. ICANN made RDAP the official source for generic TLDs (.com, .net, .org and the new gTLDs) in 2025, and many country-code registries — including .in — publish it too.
What you'll see
| Field | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Registrar | The company the domain is registered through (GoDaddy, Namecheap, Cloudflare…) |
| Registration date | How old the domain is |
| Expiry date | When it must be renewed |
| Last updated | When the record last changed |
| Nameservers | Which DNS provider is authoritative |
| Status codes | Transfer locks, holds, redemption |
| DNSSEC | Whether DNS responses are signed |
Why the owner's name is hidden
Since GDPR (2018), registrars redact personal contact details by default. To reach a domain owner, use the registrar's contact form or the abuse email shown in the record.
Look up a domain
Enter a domain in the free WHOIS / Domain Lookup. It queries RDAP directly from your browser, highlights the expiry date (in red if under 30 days away) and explains each status code.
Status codes worth knowing
- clientTransferProhibited — transfer lock; unlock it at your registrar before moving the domain.
- redemptionPeriod — the domain expired; it can usually still be restored, for a fee.
- pendingDelete — it's about to be released for anyone to register.
- serverHold — the registry has suspended it; it won't resolve.
.ae domains
The .ae registry (aeDA) doesn't publish public RDAP data. Use the official lookup on the aeDA website for .ae domains.
Protect your own domain
- Turn on auto-renew and keep the card on file current.
- Use a role email (domains@company.com) as the registrant contact, not a former employee's address.
- Enable the transfer lock and two-factor authentication at your registrar.
- Put the expiry date in your calendar anyway.
SEO and infrastructure, built in
Pyalm builds SEO-first websites for businesses in India and the UAE — technical SEO, structured data, sitemaps, correct DNS and email authentication, and fast hosting — so these checks pass from day one.
Related free tools
WHOIS Lookup | DNS Lookup | Sitemap Generator | Robots.txt Generator | SERP Preview | All free tools