Whois queries the public registry of domain names and returns who registered a given domain, when, through which registrar, and when it expires. It is the canonical source for domain provenance — useful for trademark disputes, acquisition research, phishing analysis, and verifying that a new domain is what it claims to be.
Type the bare domain (example.com, no http://) and submit. The output streams directly from the registrar or registry responsible for the TLD.
Key fields
- Registrar — the company that sold/maintains the registration.
- Creation / Updated / Expiry Date — lifecycle timestamps. Very young or near-expiry domains are classic abuse signals.
- Name servers — which DNS provider the domain currently points to.
- Registrant / Admin / Tech contacts — who to reach. Often redacted since GDPR.
FAQ
Why can't I see the owner name? Since GDPR and similar privacy laws, most registrars redact personal contact data. Corporate and US .com/.net registrations are more likely to show it.
What's a registrar? An ICANN-accredited company that sells domains to end users (GoDaddy, Namecheap, Porkbun, Google Domains, etc.).
How fresh is the data? Whois records are usually updated within minutes of a registrar change. Some TLDs cache for up to 24 hours.