Domain Expiry & WHOIS Lookup
Enter any domain to check when it expires and see full WHOIS registration details - registrar, nameservers, status codes, and more.
What this tool checks
This free domain lookup tool queries the WHOIS database and extracts the most important registration details. Here's what it reports:
What happens when a domain expires
When your domain registration lapses, it doesn't disappear immediately. Most registrars provide a grace period (typically 30-45 days) during which you can renew at the normal price. After that, it enters a redemption period where renewal costs significantly more - often $100-200+. Finally, the domain enters "pending delete" status and is released back to the public pool, where domain squatters and competitors can register it. Your website, email, and any services tied to that domain stop working the moment it expires.
Manual lookups vs. continuous monitoring
This tool gives you a point-in-time snapshot of your domain's registration data. For production domains, you need continuous monitoring that automatically tracks expiry dates and alerts your team weeks before renewal is due. Vantaj monitors your domains 24/7 and sends alerts at 90, 60, 30, 7, and 1 day before expiry - covering you even if auto-renewal fails due to expired payment methods or registrar issues.
Frequently asked questions
How does this domain lookup tool work?
When does my domain expire?
What do the domain status codes mean?
Why is some WHOIS data redacted?
How often should I check my domain expiry?
Is this tool free?
What is WHOIS?
WHOIS is a query-response protocol used to look up registration data for domain names and IP addresses. When someone registers a domain, the registrar submits ownership and contact data to a public WHOIS database. Anyone can query it to find out who owns a domain, when it was registered, when it expires, and which DNS servers it uses.
WHOIS data is stored and served by two types of servers: registry WHOIS servers (operated by domain registries like Verisign for .com) and registrar WHOIS servers (operated by companies like GoDaddy or Namecheap). A full lookup often queries both.
How to read a WHOIS record
Registrar
The company through which the domain was registered (GoDaddy, Namecheap, Cloudflare Registrar, etc.). Not the same as the DNS host - many domains are registered with one company and use another for DNS.
Registered On / Created Date
When the domain was first registered. Older registration dates are a positive trust signal - search engines and security tools treat older domains as more established.
Expires On
The date the current registration period ends. Domains do not disappear immediately on this date - they enter a grace period. But failing to renew puts the domain at risk of expiry and eventual deletion.
Name Servers
The authoritative DNS servers for the domain. These tell the internet where to find DNS records for the domain. Changing name servers (e.g., moving from GoDaddy to Cloudflare DNS) takes 24–48 hours to propagate.
DNSSEC
Domain Name System Security Extensions. When enabled, DNSSEC adds cryptographic signatures to DNS records, preventing DNS spoofing attacks. Most consumer domains do not use it; it is common for banking and government domains.
WHOIS domain status codes explained
| Status code | What it means |
|---|---|
| clientTransferProhibited | Transfer lock is active - the domain cannot be moved to another registrar without explicit unlock. This is a good sign; it prevents unauthorized transfers. |
| clientDeleteProhibited | Deletion is locked at the registrar level. Prevents accidental or malicious deletion. |
| clientUpdateProhibited | WHOIS data and DNS changes are locked. Common on high-value domains. |
| serverTransferProhibited | The registry (not just registrar) has locked transfers. Applied by ICANN during dispute resolution. |
| redemptionPeriod | The domain has expired and entered a 30-day redemption window. The original registrant can still recover it, usually for a recovery fee of $100–200. |
| pendingDelete | Redemption period ended. The domain will be released to the public within 5 days. At this point recovery is no longer possible through the registrar. |
What happens when a domain expires?
Domain expiry follows a predictable sequence. Knowing the stages matters if you are trying to recover an expired domain or monitoring a competitor's domain.
- Day 0 - Expiry: The domain stops resolving. Most registrars park it on a holding page and send renewal reminders. The domain is still recoverable at the regular renewal price.
- Day 0–45 - Grace period: The registrant can renew at the normal price. The exact window varies by registrar (typically 0–45 days). DNS stops working but the domain is not yet at risk.
- Day ~45 - Redemption period (30 days): WHOIS shows
redemptionPeriod. Recovery requires a redemption fee ($100–200) paid to the registrar. Not all registrars offer recovery. - Day ~75 - Pending delete (5 days): WHOIS shows
pendingDelete. Recovery is no longer possible. The domain sits in a deletion queue. - Day ~80 - Released: The domain drops and becomes available for registration by anyone. Drop-catching services monitor this and register valuable domains within seconds of release.
Why is WHOIS data redacted?
Before 2018, WHOIS records contained the registrant's name, postal address, phone number, and email. GDPR, which took effect in May 2018, changed that. Most registrars now replace personal contact data with privacy proxy services - the registrar's address appears instead of the registrant's.
ICANN's Temporary Specification (now the Registration Data Policy) formalized this globally, not just for EU registrants. The result: technical fields (registration dates, expiry, nameservers, status codes) remain public, but personal contact data is redacted by default.
If you need to contact a domain owner, use the registrar's WHOIS contact form (linked in most lookup results) or look for contact information on the domain's website directly.
WHOIS vs RDAP - what is the difference?
RDAP (Registration Data Access Protocol) is the modern successor to WHOIS. ICANN mandated that all registrars support RDAP from 2019 onward. Key differences:
| Feature | WHOIS | RDAP |
|---|---|---|
| Protocol | Plain text, port 43 | HTTPS REST API, JSON |
| Authentication | None | Supports tiered access (public + credentialed) |
| Format | Unstructured text (varies by registrar) | Structured JSON (standardized fields) |
| Internationalization | Limited, ASCII-focused | Full Unicode support |
For most lookups the results are identical - RDAP just returns the same data in a cleaner format. The practical advantage for developers is that RDAP is machine-readable JSON, making it easy to parse programmatically without regex on inconsistent WHOIS text.