WHOIS lookup
Look up a domain, an IPv4 or IPv6 address or an AS number (ASN). For a domain: who registered it, which registrar holds it, when it expires and what its status codes mean. For an address or ASN: which network it belongs to, who holds it and where to report abuse. Asked over RDAP and classic WHOIS, of the registry and then the registrar.
How it works
- RDAP
- The JSON successor to WHOIS. IANA's bootstrap files say which registry serves each TLD, IP block and AS number; the registry's record links to the registrar's.
- WHOIS
- The classic text protocol on port 43, asked of the registry and then of the registrar it names: the same replies the
whoiscommand prints. - Subdomains
- Only registered domains have records, so www.bbc.co.uk is looked up as bbc.co.uk (the Public Suffix List says where the registrable part starts).
- Privacy
- Since GDPR most registries hide the owner's name, e-mail and address. The organisation and country often still show, and the registrar's abuse contact always does.
- DNS
- WHOIS says who holds a name; DNS Lookup shows what the name points at, traced from the root servers.