About the WHOIS / RDAP
This WHOIS tool looks up registration data for any domain name or IP address using RDAP, the modern, structured successor to legacy WHOIS. For a domain you get the registrar, the registration, last-updated and expiry dates, the domain's status codes (such as clientTransferProhibited), and the authoritative nameservers. For an IP address you get the owning network's address range and country instead.
Use it to check when a domain expires before it lapses, confirm who the registrar is and whether a transfer lock is in place, verify nameserver delegation actually matches what you configured, or find which network block an IP address belongs to during an abuse report or a routing investigation.
The query runs server-side against the public RDAP bootstrap system, which redirects to the authoritative registry for the domain's TLD or the address block in question, so the answer comes from the same source of truth as classic WHOIS, just returned as clean, consistent JSON rather than free text that varies by registry.
Since GDPR, registrant contact details (name, email, phone) are redacted from public RDAP and WHOIS responses for nearly every gTLD, which is expected behaviour rather than a fault in the lookup. Registrar, key dates, status codes and nameservers remain public because they aren't personal data, and this tool still reliably returns those.
A small number of legacy registries don't publish RDAP yet; when that's the case, the tool reports that no record was found rather than falling back to a scraped or guessed answer.
How to use it
- Enter a domain name (example.com) or an IPv4 / IPv6 address.
- Submit to query the RDAP bootstrap system for the matching registry.
- Review the registrar name and the registration, last-updated and expiry dates.
- Check the status codes to confirm things like a registrar transfer lock.
- Read the authoritative nameservers and confirm delegation matches your DNS provider.
- For an IP address, read the network range and country of the owning block instead.
Examples
- Look up example.com to see its registrar and the exact date its registration expires.
- Check a domain's status codes to confirm clientTransferProhibited is set as an anti-hijack lock.
- Query 8.8.8.8 to find the network range and country the address belongs to.
- Compare the nameservers RDAP reports against what you configured, to catch a delegation change that never actually propagated.
- Look up a domain right after buying it to confirm the new registrar and registration date already show up.
RDAP versus legacy WHOIS
This tool uses RDAP exclusively, which is why results stay consistent across TLDs even though most people still search for it as "whois".
- format: RDAP returns structured JSON with named fields; classic WHOIS returns free text that varies, sometimes wildly, by registry
- access control: RDAP has a standard mechanism for redacting fields per policy; WHOIS redaction was bolted on inconsistently, registry by registry
- redirection: RDAP bootstraps automatically to the authoritative registry for a TLD or address block; classic WHOIS required knowing the right whois server to query yourself
Reading domain status codes
Status codes come straight from the registry and describe restrictions or holds on the domain:
- clientTransferProhibited / serverTransferProhibited: a lock preventing the domain from being transferred to another registrar, usually a good sign
- clientDeleteProhibited / serverDeleteProhibited: prevents accidental or malicious deletion
- clientHold / serverHold: the domain is on hold and typically will not resolve, often applied during a dispute or for abuse
- redemptionPeriod: the domain has lapsed and can still be reclaimed by its original registrant before it's dropped
- pendingDelete: past the redemption grace period, about to be released back into the public pool
- ok: no restrictions or holds are currently in effect
What's redacted, and why
Since GDPR took effect in 2018, registrant contact information, name, email and phone, is redacted from public RDAP and WHOIS responses across nearly every gTLD. That's industry-wide policy rather than a limitation of this tool specifically: you'll reliably see the registrar, dates, status codes and nameservers, but rarely the registrant's personal details.
Domain lookup versus IP lookup
The same query box handles both kinds of target. For a domain you get the registrar, dates, status and nameservers; for an IP address you instead get the owning network's address range (startAddress and endAddress) and country, which is what you actually need when tracing abuse back to a provider or figuring out who's hosting a given address.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between WHOIS and RDAP?
RDAP is the modern successor to WHOIS. It returns structured JSON with consistent fields and a standard way to handle access restrictions, where classic WHOIS returned free text that varied by registry. This tool queries RDAP and presents the key fields from the response.
Why are some contact details missing from the result?
Since GDPR, most registries redact personal registrant data from public RDAP and WHOIS responses. You'll reliably see the registrar, dates, status codes and nameservers, but not the registrant's name or email for most domains.
Can I look up any domain extension (TLD)?
Most modern gTLDs and many ccTLDs publish RDAP, so yes for the large majority. A few legacy registries don't yet, in which case no RDAP record is returned and the tool tells you that directly rather than guessing.
Does this show when a domain expires?
Yes. When the registry publishes it, the expiry date is shown alongside the registration and last-updated dates.
What does clientTransferProhibited actually mean?
It's a registrar-applied lock that blocks the domain from being transferred away without it first being removed. It's a normal, protective status, and its absence is worth noticing on a domain you care about.
Can I look up an IP address instead of a domain?
Yes. Enter an IPv4 or IPv6 address and the tool returns the owning network's address range and country instead of registrar and nameserver data.
Why do people still call this a 'whois lookup' if it uses RDAP?
Because the underlying question, who is this domain registered to, and through whom, hasn't changed, only the protocol answering it has. RDAP is the newer, structured mechanism behind what everyone still calls a WHOIS lookup by habit.
Is a WHOIS lookup the same as a DNS lookup?
No. A WHOIS/RDAP lookup shows registration data, who owns the domain, through which registrar, until when. A DNS lookup shows the domain's live records, its A, MX or TXT entries. The two are related but answer different questions; use the DNS tool for the latter.