You type a domain into a WHOIS tool, hoping to see who owns it, and the owner field says “REDACTED.” The lookup did not fail. It is working exactly as the 2025 rules intend. This guide shows what a domain registration lookup still tells you, where to run one for free, and what to do when the name you need is hidden.
Why Domain Registration Lookups Changed in 2025
On January 28, 2025, ICANN made the Registration Data Access Protocol (RDAP) “the definitive source” for registration data on generic top-level domains such as .com, .org and .shop, in place of WHOIS (ICANN, Launching RDAP; Sunsetting WHOIS). Most people still say “WHOIS.” The data now mostly travels over RDAP.
Why should you care which protocol answers you? Because it changes which tools give you a full answer. A tool built only on WHOIS may query servers that registries are no longer required to run. A modern domain registration lookup follows RDAP first and falls back to WHOIS only when it has to.
A second change arrived on August 21, 2025, when ICANN’s Registration Data Policy took effect for registries and accredited registrars (ICANN Registration Data Policy). It sets which fields registrars must show, which they may hide, and how you can still reach a hidden owner.
This guide sticks to official sources: ICANN, IANA, the IETF standards behind RDAP, and the registries themselves. We read every page cited here on October 24, 2026. No lookups of real third-party domains appear below; examples use example.com and icann.org, the same names ICANN’s own documentation uses.
Key Takeaways
ICANN estimates that RDAP servers answered over 10 billion queries per month as of December 2024 (ICANN, Information for RDAP Users). A free lookup still shows a domain’s registrar, key dates, status codes and name servers. Personal owner details are usually redacted, and getting them takes a formal request, not a better search tool.
Quick Answer: How to Look Up a Domain’s Registration
The fastest free domain registration lookup is ICANN’s own tool at lookup.icann.org, one of the two RDAP clients ICANN maintains, which ICANN describes as “a free public service” that pulls results “directly from registry operators and/or registrars in real-time” (ICANN Lookup FAQ). For a quick domain registration lookup whois check, that is the place to start.
Here is the short version:
- Open lookup.icann.org.
- Type the domain name, for example
example.com, withouthttps://orwww. - Accept the terms and run the lookup.
- Read the registrar, the dates, the status codes and the name servers.
Which tool fits which question? That depends on what you are after.
| What you want to know | Where to look | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Who the registrar is and when the domain expires | ICANN Lookup | Current RDAP data from the registry and registrar |
| The owner of a .com, .org or other generic domain | ICANN Lookup first, then the registrar’s contact form or disclosure process | Usually a redacted name plus a relay email or web form |
| Details for a country-code domain such as .de | The registry listed in the IANA Root Zone Database | The registry’s own rules |
| Past owners of a domain | A third-party history service | Archived records |
| Whether you can buy the name | A registrar’s search box | Price and availability |
The first row covers most needs. A small business checking which company holds its own domain, or a buyer checking an expiry date, rarely needs anything else.
WHOIS vs RDAP: What Changed in January 2025
As of January 28, 2025, gTLD registries and registrars “are no longer required to provide WHOIS services (except for .com, .name, and .post),” while all of them must run RDAP under the gTLD RDAP Profile (ICANN RDAP overview). So WHOIS is not gone. It is optional almost everywhere.
What does RDAP do better? ICANN lists support for internationalization, secure access to data, a standardized format and “the ability to provide differentiated access to registration data” (ICANN Lookup). That last point matters most to you as a searcher. RDAP can show more fields to an approved requester than to the public, through the same system.
| WHOIS (port 43) | RDAP | |
|---|---|---|
| Response format | Free-form text that varies by server | Structured JSON with standard fields |
| Finding the right server | You need to know which server to ask | Bootstrap files point the query to the authoritative server |
| Non-English names | Limited support | Supports internationalized domain names |
| Different views for different users | No | Yes, by design |
| Required for gTLDs in 2026 | Only .com, .name and .post | Yes, for every gTLD registry and registrar |
The bootstrap row is the practical one. ICANN’s RDAP FAQ explains that a WHOIS query “is limited to the specific database queried,” while RDAP can route a query “to the authoritative server to return the relevant data” (ICANN RDAP FAQs). You no longer have to guess which registrar’s server to ask.
ICANN also retired its own WHOIS site. The Lookup FAQ says the old whois.icann.org “is no longer available and now redirects” to the RDAP-based tool. If a bookmark from 2020 still points there, it now lands on the right page anyway.
Step by Step: Using ICANN Lookup
ICANN Lookup accepts three kinds of input, a domain name, an IP network or an ASN, and it is a JavaScript client that “makes use of the Registration Data Access Protocol (RDAP) to query, parse and display registration data in a human-friendly format” (ICANN Lookup FAQ). It costs nothing and needs no account. Here is how a lookup runs from start to finish.
Run the search
- Go to lookup.icann.org.
- Enter a domain name. The box also accepts an IP network or an autonomous system number (ASN), which is useful for checking who runs a server.
- Read the consent line under the box. By submitting, you agree that ICANN processes your input under its privacy policy and that you follow the tool’s terms of use.
- Click Lookup.
When RDAP does not answer
What happens if a registrar’s RDAP server is down? The FAQ says you will “be prompted with a captcha request to optionally perform a WHOIS lookup.” This is the WHOIS failover. Opt in, and the tool queries the gTLD registry’s WHOIS service where one exists. It does not offer WHOIS failover for IP addresses or ASNs, or when RDAP works.
Look at the raw response
At the bottom of the results page sits the raw RDAP response, “minimized by default.” Most people never open it. It is worth a look when a field seems missing, because the raw JSON shows remarks and redaction labels that the friendly view can hide behind a single word.
Know what the tool keeps
The terms say ICANN “does not generate, collect, retain, or store any data associated with an RDAP compliant lookup.” During a WHOIS failover, ICANN may hold the query and result for the short time needed to show them. That is a reassuring detail if you are researching a name you plan to buy and would rather not tip anyone off.
Reading the Results: Registrar, Dates, Status Codes and Name Servers
Under the Registration Data Policy, every RDDS response for a gTLD must publish 11 core elements, including the domain name, creation date, expiry date, registrar, registrar IANA ID, abuse contact email and phone, and domain status (ICANN Registration Data Policy, Section 9.1.1). Those fields are the reliable part of any lookup.
ICANN’s FAQ also says which company supplies each field, which helps when two tools disagree.
| Field in ICANN Lookup | What it tells you | Supplied by |
|---|---|---|
| Domain Status | One or more EPP status codes | Registry |
| Nameservers | Which DNS servers answer for the domain | Registry |
| Dates | Created, expires and updated, where available | Registry or registrar |
| Registrar name, abuse email and phone | The company that sponsors the registration | Registrar |
| IANA ID | The registrar’s number in IANA’s registry | Registry |
| Reseller name or organization | Shown only if the registrar publishes it | Registrar |
| Delegation Signed, DS Data, Key Data | Whether DNSSEC is set up | Registry |
Source: ICANN Lookup FAQ.
The registrar and its IANA ID
In our reading of the field table, the IANA ID is the field least likely to mislead you. Brand names and legal names often differ, but the number does not. IANA’s Registrar IDs list, last updated October 22, 2026, shows ID 886 as “Domain.com - Network Solutions, LLC” and ID 2 as “Network Solutions, LLC,” each with its own RDAP base URL (IANA Registrar IDs). Our guide to Domain.com’s prices, renewals and Network Solutions ties walks through what that ownership means for renewals and transfers.
That list is long. A count of the downloaded table on October 24, 2026 found 3,324 rows marked Accredited and 1,169 marked Terminated. A terminated ID in an old record usually means the domain has since moved to a different registrar.
What if the lookup also shows a reseller? Then you bought from a company that sells on behalf of an accredited registrar. Our comparison of registrars, registries and resellers explains why that extra layer can add a step to transfers and disputes.
Dates
The creation date is when the current registration began. The expiry date is when the registration runs out unless someone renews it. The updated date changes when the record changes, which can be as small as a name server edit.
A creation date can reset. If a domain expired, was deleted and was registered again, the record shows the new date, not the first one. That is why the age of a domain in a lookup is not always the age of the website.
Status codes
ICANN says “every domain has at least one status code,” and the codes explain “why your domain may have stopped working, if it is protected from domain name hijacking,” and when it may become available (ICANN, EPP Status Codes). The registrar sets codes that start with client. The registry sets codes that start with server, and those take precedence.
| Status code | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
ok (RDAP: active) |
No pending operations or locks | Nothing; consider asking for transfer and delete locks |
clientTransferProhibited |
The registrar blocks transfers | Ask your registrar to remove it before a transfer |
clientHold |
The domain will not resolve | Often a payment or dispute issue; contact the registrar |
serverHold |
The registry has pulled the domain from DNS | Contact the registrar to find out why |
redemptionPeriod |
The registrar asked to delete the domain; held 30 days | The owner can still restore it for a fee |
pendingDelete |
Not restored in time; purged after several days | It will soon be open for registration again |
Seeing clientTransferProhibited on your own domain is normal and good. It is a lock against hijacking. Our guide to moving a domain away from GoDaddy shows where that lock gets switched off when you want to move.
Name servers
Name servers tell you where the domain’s DNS is managed, which often hints at the host. A domain registered at one company can point to name servers at another. If you are unsure how those two jobs split, our explainer on what a domain does versus what a host does covers it.
Why Owner Details Are Usually Redacted
Owner details went dark in stages: ICANN’s Temporary Specification took effect on May 25, 2018 to bring gTLD data in line with the EU’s GDPR, and after an interim policy, the Registration Data Policy took over on August 21, 2025 (ICANN Registration Data Policy). Is the owner hiding something? Usually not. Most of the time the registrar is simply following those rules.
What the policy hides and what it keeps
When redaction applies, the registrar must hide the registrant’s name, street, postal code, phone and fax, plus the technical contact’s name and phone. A redacted field is not just blank. The policy says the value must be replaced and the record “MUST indicate that the value is redacted”; in WHOIS-style output the value becomes the string “REDACTED.”
Some fields stay public. Registrars must publish the registrant’s country, and the state or province if collected. So a lookup can tell you a domain belongs to someone in Texas without saying who.
When redaction applies
Registrars must redact when the law requires it. They may also redact when they have “a commercially reasonable purpose,” or when limiting redaction is not technically feasible. The policy also says registrars “MAY, but are not required to,” consider whether the data belongs to a company or a person. So a business can show a redacted owner too, and a blank owner field says nothing about whether the domain is legitimate.
Company names and consent
There is one opening for businesses. If a registrant fills in the Registrant Organization field, the registrar must tell them it will publish that name if they agree. The policy also says the registrar “MUST provide the opportunity” for the registrant to consent to publishing other redacted fields. A company that wants to be findable can ask its registrar to show its name.
Privacy and proxy services
A privacy or proxy service is different from redaction. The service’s own details replace yours. The policy says that for domains using an affiliated or accredited privacy or proxy service, the record must show “the full Registration Data of the Privacy or Proxy Service.” Our upcoming guide to private domain registration will cover how those services work and what they cost.
How to Request Hidden Registration Data
There are three routes to a redacted owner, and ICANN asks you to check ICANN Lookup first, because the data you need may already be public (ICANN Lookup). Which route fits depends on whether you want to reach the owner or identify them.
Route 1: Use the contact email or web form
If you only want to send a message, you rarely need the owner’s identity. Under Section 9.2.3, a registrar that redacts “MUST Publish an email address or a link to a web form to facilitate email communication” with the contact. That address or form must not reveal the real email. Look for it in the Registrant Email field of the lookup.
Keep the message short and specific. Say who you are, which domain you mean and what you want. A form may pass along only a fixed message, so put your best contact details where the form allows.
Route 2: Ask the registrar directly
Section 10.1 says every registrar and registry “MUST publish on their homepage” a direct link to a page that explains how to submit disclosure requests. That page must set out the format of a request, how you will get an answer and the expected timeline. Find the registrar in the lookup, visit its site and follow that link.
Route 3: File through RDRS
The Registration Data Request Service (RDRS) is ICANN’s central form for requesting nonpublic gTLD data from participating registrars. ICANN lists its users as law enforcement, intellectual property professionals, consumer protection advocates, cybersecurity specialists, government officials and others “with a legitimate interest” (ICANN RDRS). You need an ICANN account, and you can upload legal documents and track each request.
The pilot ended in November 2025. At ICANN84, the Board directed ICANN to keep RDRS running for up to two more years while policy work continues. Not every registrar takes part, so a request may still have to go to the registrar directly.
A request is not a promise of disclosure. The registrar weighs it against privacy law. Strong requests explain who you are, which law or right is involved and why you cannot get what you need another way.
If the data looks wrong
What if the public data is plainly false, or no lookup works at all? The ICANN Lookup FAQ says you can submit “a domain name registration data inaccuracy complaint,” which goes to ICANN Contractual Compliance for review.
Looking Up Country-Code Domains (.uk, .de, .io and Others)
Country-code domains such as .uk, .de and .io follow their own registry’s rules, and IANA’s RDAP bootstrap file, published October 22, 2026, lists RDAP servers for 1,204 top-level domains, a list that leaves out .de and .io (IANA, RDAP bootstrap file). For those, you need the registry’s own lookup.
How do you find the right registry? Use the IANA Root Zone Database. Each top-level domain has a page listing its manager, its website, its WHOIS server and its RDAP base URL, if any.
| Domain | Registry listed by IANA | RDAP base URL | WHOIS server |
|---|---|---|---|
| .uk | Nominet UK | https://rdap.nominet.uk/uk/ |
None listed |
| .de | DENIC eG | None listed | whois.denic.de |
| .io | Internet Computer Bureau Limited | None listed | whois.nic.io |
Sources: IANA Root Zone Database pages for .uk, .de and .io, read October 24, 2026.
Because .uk has an RDAP server in the bootstrap file, an RDAP client can find it automatically. For .de and .io, go to the registry’s site or query the WHOIS server it lists.
Each registry sets its own privacy rules
DENIC is a good example. For .de domains held by natural persons, “personal data of the domain holder remains protected for data protection reasons,” and the public query shows the managing DENIC member instead (DENIC Domain Query). Holders can view their own data through a time-limited email link. DENIC discloses holder data only in certain cases, such as to authorities and to rights holders in name or trademark disputes.
US government domains
The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency runs .gov. Its WHOIS domain lookup shows who manages a .gov domain, offers the data in bulk, and works from a terminal with whois -g get.gov. It is a rare case where the managing organization is public by default.
Not sure which registry runs a suffix? Its page in the Root Zone Database names the manager. IANA also runs a WHOIS web gateway on port 43 that accepts domain names, IP addresses and AS numbers.
Command-Line and Bulk Lookups
For scripts and bulk work, ICANN maintains an open-source command-line RDAP client on GitHub, one of over 40 known RDAP client implementations by ICANN’s count (ICANN, Information for RDAP Users). Why bother with a terminal? Because it handles the bootstrap step for you and its output can feed other tools.
ICANN’s rdap command
The project wiki shows the basic commands (icann-rdap wiki):
rdap icann.org # full domain record
rdap -p registrar icann.org # just the registrar
rdap -O pretty-json -p registrar icann.org # registrar as JSON
rdap -O url icann.org # show the RDAP URLs it would query
rdap .com # information about a top-level domainThe wiki also documents exit codes for scripts, such as 104 for “No registrar found” and 105 for “No registry found.” Those make it easy to sort results in a bulk domain registration checker of your own.
Plain RDAP URLs
RDAP is ordinary HTTPS, so a browser or curl can query it. RFC 9082 defines domain queries in the form /domain/<domain name> on the server’s base URL (RFC 9082). The base URL for .com in IANA’s bootstrap file is https://rdap.verisign.com/com/v1/, so a query for example.com looks like this:
curl https://rdap.verisign.com/com/v1/domain/example.comICANN’s Lookup FAQ notes that results “may come from both registrars and registry operators,” which is why a full answer can involve two servers: the registry’s and the registrar’s.
Rate limits and empty results
Bulk lookups hit limits. RFC 7480 says a server that declines a query because of rate limits “returns a 429 (Too Many Requests) response code,” and a client “SHOULD decrease its query rate” (RFC 7480). The same RFC says an empty result returns 404. Build pauses into any script that checks hundreds of names, and log 429s separately from 404s.
New domain registration lists
Searching for a “new domain registration list”? RDAP answers one name at a time; it does not list names. For lists, ICANN runs the Centralized Zone Data Service (CZDS), where “any interested party can request access to the Zone Files provided by participating generic Top-Level Domains” (ICANN CZDS). A zone file lists the names delegated in a TLD. Comparing one download with the next shows which names appeared. For a TLD not in CZDS, ICANN says to contact the registry operator and ask for its Zone File Agreement.
Third-Party WHOIS Tools: What They Add
Third-party WHOIS tools add mostly history and monitoring; DomainTools, for example, says its WHOIS History “searches 20+ years of historical domain ownership records to reveal prior owners or aliases” (DomainTools Personal Domain Research). The current record comes from the same registries and registrars ICANN Lookup queries.
What a history service can do
DomainTools’ product page lists these research and monitoring tools, among others:
- Whois Lookup: “the most current ownership record for a domain name.”
- Whois History: archived records going back 20 years or more.
- Reverse Whois: searches historical records for a string such as an email address or registrant name, to link domains with the same owner.
- Hosting History: IP address, registrar and name server changes over time.
- Brand Monitor and Registrant Monitor: email alerts when a new domain matches a keyword, or when a search string appears in or leaves a WHOIS record.
The monitors are what most people mean by domain registration monitoring. Its WHOIS History documentation adds two handy details. The timeline highlights only the dates when something changed. A symbol marks records where WHOIS privacy was in use, so you can spot when a domain was not protected (DomainTools WHOIS History docs).
Why can a history service show names that a live lookup hides? Because it archived records from before redaction became common. Treat old records as clues, not proof of today’s owner.
Registrar WHOIS pages
Many registrars run their own lookup page. Searching for the Domain.com WHOIS lookup is a good example: on October 24, 2026, domain.com/whois forwarded to the Network Solutions WHOIS Lookup page, which fits the shared ownership shown in IANA’s list. Registrar pages are handy, but they also sell privacy add-ons. For a neutral read, cross-check with ICANN Lookup.
What should you check before you trust any third-party tool? Our rule of thumb is three questions. Does it say whether it uses RDAP? Does it show when the record was fetched? Does it separate current data from archived data? A tool that answers none of these is guessing on your behalf.
Checking Availability vs Checking Ownership
A registration lookup answers who holds a name; only a registrar’s search answers whether you can buy it and at what price, and an RDAP server signals “no data” with a 404 response (RFC 7480). Those are two different questions. Mixing them up is a common reason people think a name is free when it is not.
Why is a 404 not a green light? A name can be absent from registration data and still be reserved by the registry, sold at a premium price, or in the middle of being deleted. A lookup cannot tell you any of that. A registrar’s search box can, because it asks the registry whether the name can be registered right now.
| Question | Use | Answer you get |
|---|---|---|
| Is this name registered, and by which registrar? | ICANN Lookup or an RDAP client | Current registration data, or no result |
| Can I buy it today, and for how much? | A registrar’s domain search | Available, taken or premium, with a price |
| When might a taken name come free? | The expiry date and status codes in a lookup | Clues such as redemptionPeriod or pendingDelete |
Ready to buy? Our guide on how buying and registering a domain works covers the purchase itself. If price matters most, compare low-cost registrars on their renewal prices before you check out, since renewal prices vary far more than first-year deals.
Next Steps: History, Expiration and Buying a Taken Domain
If the name you want is taken, its status codes tell you how close it is to release: ICANN says a domain in redemptionPeriod is held 30 days, and five calendar days after that period ends it is purged and “becomes available for registration” (ICANN, EPP Status Codes). So what is your next move?
Pick the path that matches your result:
- The domain is active and you want to buy it. Use the contact email or web form in the lookup and make a polite offer. Our upcoming guide to buying and selling domain names will cover escrow and pricing.
- The domain expires soon. Write down the expiry date and check the status codes again after it. Watch for
redemptionPeriod, thenpendingDelete. - You want to know who owned it before. Live lookups show only the current record, so you need an archived history service. A separate guide on domain name history lookups is on our list.
- It is your own domain. Confirm the registrar, the expiry date and that
clientTransferProhibitedis set. If renewals feel high, our registrar comparison by renewal price, privacy and transfer terms is a good next read.
Whatever the result, keep a dated screenshot of the lookup. Registration data changes without notice, and a record from the day you checked can settle a dispute later.
References
- ICANN: Launching RDAP; Sunsetting WHOIS
- ICANN: Registration Data Access Protocol (RDAP)
- ICANN: Information for RDAP Users
- ICANN: RDAP FAQs
- ICANN Lookup
- ICANN Lookup: Frequently Asked Questions
- ICANN: EPP Status Codes
- ICANN: Registration Data Policy
- ICANN: Registration Data Request Service
- ICANN: Centralized Zone Data Service
- ICANN: icann-rdap wiki, RDAP command
- IANA: Registrar IDs
- IANA: Bootstrap Service Registry for Domain Name Space
- IANA: RDAP bootstrap file (dns.json)
- IANA: Root Zone Database
- IANA: WHOIS Service
- RFC 9082: RDAP Query Format
- RFC 7480: HTTP Usage in RDAP
- DENIC: Domain Query (Whois)
- get.gov: WHOIS domain lookup
- DomainTools: Personal Domain Research
- DomainTools: WHOIS History documentation
- Network Solutions: WHOIS Lookup