What is Whois?
Every domain name is recorded in a registry: the organisation that runs the ending, such as .com or .ua. The record says which registrar the name was bought through, when it was registered, when the registration runs out, which name servers it points to, and what state it is in. Looking that record up is called a Whois lookup, after the old service of that name.
It is useful for checking when your own domain needs renewing, for seeing how long a site’s domain has existed, for finding out which registrar and name servers a domain uses before a move, and for finding the registrar’s abuse contact.
How this tool works
Our server finds the registry for the ending you typed in the public lists kept by IANA, the body that coordinates domain endings, and asks that registry for the record. It asks over RDAP first, the service that is replacing Whois and answers in a structured form. If the registry doesn’t offer RDAP, it asks the registry’s older Whois server and reads the text that comes back.
For some endings, .com and .net among them, the registry holds only part of the record and the registrar holds the rest. Where the registry points to the registrar’s record, we read that too.
You can type a domain or paste a whole address. If you enter a subdomain, such as blog.example.com, the report is for the registered domain above it, example.com, because subdomains aren’t registered separately. The report says which name it looked up.
What the report shows
Dates. When the domain was registered, when the registration expires, how many days are left, and when the record last changed.
Registrar. The company the domain is registered through, and its abuse contact where the registry gives one.
Name servers. The servers that answer for the domain in the DNS. They show where the domain’s DNS is hosted.
Status codes. The registry’s own codes for the state of the domain, each explained in plain words. Most domains show a few “prohibited” codes: these are locks that protect the domain from being moved or deleted by mistake, and they are a good sign.
DNSSEC. Whether the registry says the domain’s DNS answers are signed. Signing is optional, and many working domains don’t use it.
Contacts. The holder of the domain (the registrant) and its administrative and technical contacts: name, organisation, e-mail, phone, address and country, exactly as the registry publishes them. For most domains today these are withheld or replaced by a privacy service, and the report then shows that wording or nothing.
How the sign at the top is chosen
There is no official score for a domain record, so the report doesn’t give one. A tick means the domain is registered and nothing in the record needs attention. An exclamation mark means the registration runs out within 30 days, or the record has a state worth a look. A cross means the registration has already run out, or the domain is on hold, in its redemption period or about to be deleted.
The 30-day line is Seokla’s own choice, not a rule of any registry. Many domains are set to renew automatically, and for those a near expiry date is nothing to worry about; your registrar’s control panel will tell you which case applies.
What this tool can’t tell you
It usually can’t tell you who owns a domain. Since 2018 most registries withhold the holder’s personal details, and many holders use a privacy service. A name in the record is what was written in the registration; it is not proof of ownership.
The contact details shown are only those the registry itself makes public. We don’t add to them, look them up anywhere else or keep them. They are published so that a domain’s holder can be reached about the domain; sending advertising to these addresses is against the terms of most registries.
“No registration found” means the registry has no record for the name at this moment. It doesn’t promise that you can register it: a name can be reserved, blocked or sold at a special price. A registrar’s search is the place to check that.
Registries differ in what they publish. Some country endings don’t give an expiry date, a registrar or status codes at all, and the report then says “not published”. Records are also updated with a delay, so a change made today may show up a little later. For endings whose registry answers only over the older Whois service, the report depends on reading free-form text, and an unusual layout can leave a field empty; the lines the registry sent are shown as well, so you can read them yourself.