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Tool · WebJi® India
Whois Domain Lookup
Quick answer
A WHOIS domain lookup reads the public registration record of a domain over RDAP: the registrar, the creation and expiry dates, the name servers and status codes such as clientTransferProhibited. Owner contacts are usually redacted for privacy. Enter the bare name, such as example.in, without http or www; the lookup is free.
For buyers eyeing a taken name, owners tracing their own registrar, and anyone checking whether a website or seller is what it claims to be.
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Last editorial update: 14 November 2026. Prices follow the dated sources on this page; checkout confirms current charges.
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Data comes from the registry’s RDAP service. Expiry close? Renew before the redemption window makes it expensive — transfer to WebJi® and manage it with INR billing.
What a WHOIS domain lookup shows
A WHOIS lookup returns the public registration record of a domain: who sponsors it (the registrar), when it was created, updated and will expire, which name servers answer for it, and which status locks apply. Contact lines appear too, but on most current registrations they show a privacy proxy rather than a person.
| Field | What it means | Why you would check it |
|---|---|---|
| Registrar | The company that sold the name and can renew or transfer it | To know where an authorisation code must be requested |
| Creation date | First registration of the name | An old name has history; a days-old one sending payment links is a warning |
| Updated date | The last change of any kind | Often only a nameserver edit, not a change of owner |
| Registry expiry date | The day the current paid term ends | Renewal deadline, or the earliest date a taken name could drop |
| Name servers | Where the DNS for the name is hosted | Shows which provider controls the website and email records |
| Status | Lock, hold or deletion flags set by the registrar or registry | Explains why a transfer fails or a site has stopped resolving |
| Registrant / admin / tech | The contacts on file, usually redacted or proxied | Organisation and country sometimes remain visible |
Enter the bare name — example.in, not https://www.example.in/page. The record belongs to the registered domain, so subdomains and paths return nothing extra.
WHOIS vs RDAP: where the lookup data comes from
The lookup above reads RDAP, the Registration Data Access Protocol that has replaced classic port-43 WHOIS as ICANN's required source for generic domains since 28 January 2025. The fields are the same; RDAP returns them as structured data with standard labels instead of free text that varied by registrar.
For .com, the authoritative record sits with the Verisign registry and the sponsoring registrar. For .in and .co.in it sits with NIXI, the .IN registry, which keeps its own copy beside the registrar's. Country-code registries set their own disclosure rules, so a .uk, .de or .au record can show more or less than a .com one. The what is WHOIS guide covers the protocol's history.
Domain status codes in a WHOIS record, explained
Status codes are the standard EPP flags that say whether a domain is active, locked, suspended or on its way to deletion. Codes starting client are set by the registrar; codes starting server are set by the registry and need the registry to lift them.
| Status code | Meaning | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
ok / active | No restrictions | Normal, but an unlocked name is easier to hijack |
clientTransferProhibited | Registrar transfer lock is on | Healthy default; unlock it in the panel before a domain transfer |
clientHold / serverHold | Name is suspended and not published in DNS | Site and email stop; usually unpaid renewal, failed verification or abuse |
autoRenewPeriod | Expired and auto-renewed by the registry, inside the grace window | The owner can still renew at the normal fee |
redemptionPeriod | Expired and deleted, held for recovery | Only the last owner can restore it, at a restore fee |
pendingDelete | Final stage before release | Cannot be renewed; it becomes registrable when deletion completes |
pendingTransfer | A registrar transfer is in progress | Approve or reject from the registrant email |
How to read the expiry date when you want a taken domain
An expiry date in the past does not mean a domain is free; for most generic extensions it still passes through grace, a 30-day redemption period and about five days of pending delete before anyone else can register it. Most expiring names are renewed by their owners during that window.
- Note the registry expiry date and the status.
autoRenewPeriodorredemptionPeriodmeans the clock has started. - Check the name servers. If they still point at a live host, the owner is probably using it and will renew.
- Watch, do not pay. A third party who asks for money to "reserve" an expiring name cannot guarantee it.
- Run an availability check after deletion. When the record disappears, check domain availability and register it if it shows open.
For your own names, the domain renewal guide explains how to avoid reaching redemption at all.
Why a WHOIS lookup hides the domain owner
Personal names, phone numbers and addresses are redacted because privacy law, starting with the EU's GDPR in May 2018, made registrars stop publishing them by default. On top of that, privacy services replace the contacts with a proxy, so a lookup usually shows the registrar and dates but not who you could call.
- To reach the owner: use the contact form or relay email the registrar lists in the record.
- For legal disputes: trademark holders and law enforcement can request disclosure through the registrar, or use the dispute process described in domain name disputes in India.
- For your own names: WebJi® includes WHOIS privacy where the registry permits it; some country-code registries publish owner details by policy, and that is stated before you pay.
The WHOIS privacy guide lists which extensions support it.
Five practical reasons to run a WHOIS domain lookup
Most lookups answer one of five questions: can I get this name, is this site trustworthy, where is my domain managed, why has it stopped working, or who controls the DNS. Each has a field to read first.
Checking a supplier or shop
A creation date from last week on a site taking advance payment deserves caution.
Finding your own registrar
Agencies often register names for clients; the registrar field shows where to log in or request an authorisation code.
Site or email down
A clientHold status or a past expiry date explains outages faster than any server test.
Who runs the DNS
Name servers name the DNS provider; the hosting checker then shows which server the site sits on.
Registering a name after the WHOIS lookup comes back empty
No record usually means the name has never been registered or has been deleted, so it can be ordered at the normal yearly price. At WebJi® the common Indian choices cost the following, before 18% GST.
| Extension | Register (₹/year) | Renew (₹/year) |
|---|---|---|
| .com | ₹1,380 | ₹1,480 |
| .in | ₹1,000 | ₹1,000 |
| .co.in | ₹809 | ₹877 |
Order through domain registration India; other extensions are quoted before payment. Questions go to support@webji.services, answered 24/7 in Hindi and English.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Is it legal to look up who owns a domain in India?
Yes. Registration data is published so that anyone can see who sponsors a name and when it expires. What you see is limited to what the registry and registrar choose to disclose, which today rarely includes a private individual's address or phone number.
Why does the lookup show a different registrar from the company I paid?
Many web designers and resellers buy names through a wholesale registrar, so the record names that registrar, not the reseller. If you cannot get into the account, ask the reseller for the login or an authorisation code and make sure the registrant email is yours.
How quickly does a WHOIS record update after a change?
Registry records usually change within minutes of a renewal, transfer or nameserver edit at the registrar. DNS caches across networks can take longer to follow a nameserver change, so the record may be correct while the website still loads from the old host for a few hours.
Can a WHOIS lookup tell me what a domain is worth?
No. It shows age, registrar and status, which are inputs, but not a price. Value depends on length, keyword demand, extension and sales of similar names; the domain valuation guide explains how buyers estimate it.
Does the lookup work for .भारत and other Hindi domains?
Internationalised names are stored in an ASCII form that starts with xn--, and that is the form registries index. If a Devanagari name returns nothing, try its xn-- version; IDN domain registration explains how these names work.
Last editorial update: 14 November 2026. Prices follow the dated sources on this page; checkout confirms current charges.
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