Free domain tool
WHOIS lookup for any domain
Use this free WHOIS lookup to see which registrar a domain is registered with, since when, until when and which name servers it uses. Enter a domain name and you get the answer in seconds, without an account.
Free, no account needed
What does a WHOIS lookup show?
A WHOIS lookup shows the public registration data of a domain name: the registrar, the registration and expiry dates, the status codes and the name servers. This tool reads that data over RDAP, the official successor of WHOIS. Contact details of the domain holder are deliberately left out. If a domain is not registered, the tool tells you it appears to be free.
What this WHOIS lookup checks
The tool asks the registry of the domain extension for the registration record over RDAP (Registration Data Access Protocol). ICANN created RDAP as the replacement for the old WHOIS protocol. Since 28 January 2025 registries and registrars of generic extensions such as .com no longer have to offer WHOIS, while RDAP is mandatory for them.
Not every country extension offers RDAP yet. For extensions such as .de, .eu, .be, .es, .at and .ch the IANA list of RDAP servers has no entry, so the tool falls back to DNS: if the domain has name servers, it counts as registered and the other fields stay empty.
- Registrar: the company through which the domain is registered
- Registered on: the date the domain was first registered
- Expires on: the date the current registration period ends
- Status: the EPP status codes the registry and the registrar have set
- Name servers: the servers that publish the DNS records of the domain
How to read the result
Not registered means the registry does not know the domain, so it looks free to register. Check it once more in the domain search before you count on it, because someone else can register it at any moment.
Registered comes with the details the registry publishes. The card turns orange when the domain expires within 30 days. The status codes are defined by ICANN; these are the ones you see most:
- ok: the domain is active, with no pending operations or restrictions
- clientTransferProhibited: a transfer lock; your registrar must lift it before you can move the domain
- clientHold or serverHold: the domain is not active in DNS, so the website and email do not work
- redemptionPeriod: the registrar asked for deletion and the domain is held for 30 days, so contact your registrar right away to restore it
- pendingDelete: the domain is being released after the redemption period
- pendingTransfer: a move to another registrar is in progress
Common mistakes
Most domain problems start with an expired registration or a lock nobody remembers.
- Letting a domain expire because renewal notices go to an old email address
- Starting a transfer without asking the current provider to lift the transfer lock first
- Reading an empty result for .de or .eu as free: for those extensions only the name servers are known
- Confusing the registrar with the host: the domain and the website can sit at different companies
- Typing www in front of the name: the registry only knows the domain itself, so look up yourbusiness.com, not www.yourbusiness.com
What to do next
If the domain is free and it is the name you want, register it before someone else does. SitePack sells .nl for €7.50 a year, .eu for €9.50 and .com for €15.00, and every package includes one domain.
If the domain is yours, check the expiry date and make sure it renews. Want to manage the domain together with your website and email? Ask your current provider for the transfer code (also called auth code or EPP code) and move it to SitePack. A domain at SitePack renews automatically every year.
How to use the WHOIS lookup
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Enter the domain name
Type the domain without www, for example yourbusiness.com.
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Start the lookup
Click Look up. The tool asks the registry of the extension for the registration record.
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Read the card
Check the registrar, the dates, the status codes and the name servers. An orange card means the domain expires within 30 days.
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Take the next step
Register a free domain, renew one that is about to expire, or move your domain to SitePack with the transfer code.
Questions about the WHOIS lookup
Is this WHOIS lookup free?
Yes. You can use it without an account. If you run many lookups in a short time, the tool may ask you to wait a moment.
Why can't I see who owns the domain?
The tool deliberately shows only data about the registration itself: the registrar, the dates, the status and the name servers. Names and contact details of the domain holder are personal data, so they are left out. To reach the holder, contact the registrar shown in the result.
Why are the dates empty for my .de or .eu domain?
The registries of some country extensions, such as .de, .eu, .be and .es, are not in the IANA list of RDAP servers. For those the tool can only read the name servers from DNS. That tells you whether the domain is in use, but not the dates or the registrar.
What is the difference between WHOIS and RDAP?
Both give the registration data of a domain. RDAP is the newer protocol that ICANN introduced as the replacement for WHOIS, with standardised answers. Since 28 January 2025 registries and registrars of generic extensions no longer have to offer WHOIS, but they must offer RDAP.
What does clientTransferProhibited mean?
It is a lock that stops the domain from being transferred to another registrar. It protects you against unauthorised transfers. When you want to move the domain, ask your current registrar to remove the lock and to give you the transfer code.
The domain is registered, but no website loads. Why?
Registration and website are separate things. A domain can be registered without DNS records that point to a server, or it can be on hold. Run the DNS check to see where the domain points.
More tools and guides
- DNS check See the A, MX, NS, TXT and CAA records of a domain.
- SSL check Check whether the SSL certificate of a website is valid.
- Guide: a website for your business What a professional business website needs, step by step.
- Domain names at SitePack Register or transfer a domain, with free DNS management.
- Free tools
Your domain, website and email in one place
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