A WHOIS lookup shows the public registration record of a domain: its registrar, when it was created and when it expires, its status codes and its nameservers. This tool reads the data live from the registry using RDAP, the modern replacement for the old port-43 WHOIS protocol, so the answer is current and comes straight from the source.
What does a domain registration record contain?
- Registrar: the company the domain is registered through, with its IANA ID.
- Creation, update and expiry dates: show the domain’s age and when it must be renewed.
- Status codes: EPP codes that describe locks and lifecycle stage.
- Nameservers: where the domain’s DNS is hosted.
- DNSSEC: whether the delegation is cryptographically signed.
- Contacts: registrant, admin and technical contacts, which are usually redacted for privacy.
What do domain status codes mean?
| Status code | Meaning |
|---|---|
ok | No restrictions or pending actions. The domain is active. |
clientTransferProhibited | Registrar lock. The domain cannot be transferred to another registrar until it is unlocked. |
clientDeleteProhibited | Registrar lock that prevents the domain being deleted by accident. |
clientUpdateProhibited | Registrar lock that prevents changes to the domain’s details. |
clientHold / serverHold | The domain is suspended by the registrar or registry and does not resolve. |
redemptionPeriod | The domain has expired and can still be restored for an extra fee. |
pendingDelete | The domain is scheduled for deletion and will soon be released. |
What happens when a domain expires?
The exact timeline depends on the registrar and the extension, but most generic domains such as .com follow the same stages. First comes an auto-renew grace period of up to 45 days, when the owner can still renew at the normal price. Then a redemption period of about 30 days, when the domain can be restored for an additional fee, and finally about 5 days of pending delete, after which it is released for anyone to register.
Why is the owner’s name hidden?
Since GDPR took effect in 2018, registries and registrars redact personal contact data by default, and many registrars also offer privacy services that replace the owner’s details. The registrar, dates, status codes and nameservers remain public, and those are the details that matter when you check a domain.
What is the difference between WHOIS and RDAP?
WHOIS is the original plain-text lookup protocol from the 1980s. RDAP (Registration Data Access Protocol, RFC 9083) is its successor: it runs over HTTPS, returns structured JSON, supports internationalised data and has proper access control. ICANN now treats RDAP as the required lookup service for generic top-level domains.