Free Whois Lookup Tool — Check Domain Registration, Owner & Expiry Details

What Is a Whois Lookup?

A Whois lookup queries the public Whois database to retrieve registration details for a domain name. This includes the registrant information, registration and expiration dates, name servers, registrar, and domain status codes. The Whois protocol has been the standard for domain registration data since the early days of the internet.

Our free Whois lookup tool lets you instantly check the registration details of any domain — perfect for researching domain ownership, verifying availability, and monitoring your own domain portfolio.

Why Whois Lookups Matter

Whois data is valuable for domain management, cybersecurity, and business research:

• Domain acquisition — Identify who owns a domain you want to purchase and find their contact information
• Brand protection — Monitor for domains that infringe on your trademark or brand name
• Fraud investigation — Check the age and ownership of suspicious websites
• Expiry monitoring — Track when your domains expire to prevent accidental loss
• SEO analysis — Domain age and registration length can correlate with search trust signals

What Information Does Whois Reveal?

Registrant Details

The person or organization that registered the domain. Note: many domains use privacy protection (WHOIS privacy) that masks personal details behind a proxy service.

Registration & Expiry Dates

See when the domain was first registered, when it was last updated, and when it expires. Domain age is a trust signal — older domains generally carry more authority.

Registrar Information

The company through which the domain was registered (e.g., GoDaddy, Namecheap, Cloudflare). The registrar handles renewals, transfers, and DNS management.

Name Servers

The authoritative DNS servers for the domain. This reveals what DNS provider or hosting service the domain uses.

Domain Status Codes

EPP status codes indicate the domain's state — such as clientTransferProhibited (locked from transfers), active, or pendingDelete.

How to Use Our Whois Lookup Tool

1. Enter any domain name (e.g., example.com)
2. Click the lookup button
3. Review the registration details, dates, and name servers
4. Use the information for research, verification, or domain management

Common Use Cases

• Domain buying — Research ownership before making an offer on a domain
• Competitor analysis — Discover a competitor's registrar, hosting, and domain age
• Phishing detection — Newly registered domains impersonating brands are a red flag
• Legal research — Find registrant details for trademark or UDRP disputes
• Portfolio management — Keep track of your domains' expiration dates

Whois Lookup Best Practices

• Enable domain privacy protection to keep your personal details out of public Whois records
• Set domains to auto-renew to prevent accidental expiration
• Lock your domains (registrar lock) to prevent unauthorized transfers
• Check Whois before buying an expired domain — review its history for spam or penalties
• Monitor Whois changes on competitor domains for strategic intelligence

Related SEO Tools

Complete your domain research with these tools:

• DNS Lookup — Check all DNS records for a domain
• IP Lookup — Get geolocation and ISP details for any IP
• SSL Lookup — Verify SSL certificate details and expiration
• Website Hosting Checker — Identify which company hosts a website
• Reverse IP Lookup — Find other domains on the same server

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does Whois show "REDACTED" for owner information?

Since the introduction of GDPR in 2018 and ICANN's updated policies, many registrars redact personal information from public Whois records by default. Domain owners can also purchase privacy protection services that replace their details with a proxy.

Can I find out who owns a private domain?

If Whois privacy is enabled, you can contact the domain owner through the proxy email listed in the Whois record. For legal matters, you may request disclosure through the registrar with proper legal documentation.

How does domain age affect SEO?

While Google has stated that domain age alone is not a direct ranking factor, older domains tend to have more backlinks, established authority, and trust signals accumulated over time — all of which positively influence rankings.

What happens when a domain expires?

After expiration, most registrars offer a grace period (typically 30-45 days) to renew. After that, it enters a redemption period where recovery is expensive. Finally, it's released for public registration — often scooped up by domain investors.