What Is WHOIS?

WHOIS is a query-and-response protocol used to look up registration information for domain names, IP addresses, and autonomous systems. It was originally defined in RFC 812 in 1982 and is maintained today by regional internet registries (RIRs) and domain registrars. WHOIS records reveal who registered a resource, when, and often contact details. Query any domain or IP with our WHOIS lookup tool.

What a WHOIS Record Contains

Field	Description	Example
Registrant	Organization or person who registered the domain	Example Corp / Privacy Proxy Inc
Registrar	Company through which the domain was registered	Namecheap, GoDaddy, Cloudflare
Creation date	When the domain was first registered	2010-03-15
Expiry date	When the registration expires	2026-03-15
Name servers	DNS servers authoritative for the domain	ns1.example.com, ns2.example.com
Registrant email	Contact email (often redacted under GDPR)	[email protected] or redacted
RDAP URL	Modern replacement for WHOIS - Structured JSON format	rdap.verisign.com

WHOIS for IP Addresses

IP WHOIS (also called RDAP for IPs) reveals which organization controls a block of IP addresses, the ISP or hosting provider name, the country of registration, and the abuse contact for reporting misuse. It does not reveal the identity of individual subscribers - Only the ISP that owns the IP block. Use our IP lookup tool for a richer view that combines WHOIS, geolocation, and ASN data.

WHOIS Privacy and GDPR

• Since GDPR took effect in 2018, most European domain registrars and many global ones now redact personal registrant data from public WHOIS records.
• WHOIS privacy (proxy registration) services replace your personal details with the registrar's information for a small annual fee.
• Law enforcement and verified security researchers can request unredacted data through formal channels.
• ICANN's RDAP protocol is gradually replacing legacy WHOIS with a structured, policy-aware format that handles privacy rules per jurisdiction.