Whois lookup
See who owns a domain, when it was registered and when it expires.
About Whois
What it is
Whois is a protocol and a service that provides information about who registered a domain, with which registrar, and when the registration expires.
Why it matters
Whois data helps you confirm that you own and control a domain, and to see when it needs renewing. Old or incorrect contact information can make it hard to recover a domain if something goes wrong.
Tips
- Check that the contact details in Whois are correct and up to date.
- Set a reminder ahead of the expiry date, domains that are not renewed can be snapped up by domain squatters.
- GDPR means Whois data is often hidden for individuals, but companies should keep the information current with their registrar.
Common questions
Why is no owner shown in Whois?
Since GDPR, registrars protect individuals' details and hide them in public Whois data. Company details may still be shown depending on the registrar.
What happens if the domain expires?
It enters a grace period, after which it can be snapped up by someone else. Always renew in good time, ideally with automatic renewal.
More lookups
MX lookup
See which servers receive mail for a domain, and which provider handles it.
SPF check
Check whether a domain has an SPF record and how strictly it rejects spoofed mail.
DMARC check
See whether a domain has DMARC and which policy it uses against spoofed mail.
DKIM check
Look for DKIM signing on a domain using the most common selectors.
DNSSEC check
See whether a domain is protected with DNSSEC, that is, whether its DNS answers are signed.
TXT lookup
List all TXT records for a domain, including SPF, verifications and more.
NS lookup
See which name servers control a domain's DNS.
Blacklist check
Check whether a domain's IP address is on blacklists such as Spamhaus, Barracuda and SpamCop.
A/AAAA lookup
See which IP addresses a domain points to, both IPv4 (A) and IPv6 (AAAA).
CNAME lookup
See whether a domain is an alias that points on to another domain.
SOA lookup
See the zone's core data: primary name server, contact and serial number.
CAA lookup
See which certificate authorities are allowed to issue certificates for the domain.
Reverse DNS (PTR)
Look up which host name a domain's IP address points back to.
MTA-STS
See whether a domain requires encrypted mail delivery via MTA-STS.
TLS-RPT
See whether a domain receives reports about failed encrypted mail delivery.
BIMI
See whether a domain publishes a logo that can be shown in the recipient's inbox.
SSL certificate
Check a domain's TLS certificate: issuer, validity and expiry.
HTTP security headers
Check whether a domain's website sets important security headers.