If you've ever wanted to know who registered a particular domain, the domain's WHOIS information can give you all the answers you need at your fingertips.
Typical WHOIS data can include a name, address, email, phone number, administrative and technical contacts, or other important personally-identifying information. WHOIS is not an acronym. It answers the question, "Who is responsible for this domain?"
Here are nine of the best websites to look up WHOIS information for any domain for free.
1. ICANN Lookup
Who better to look up WHOIS information with than with ICANN itself? ICANN regulates and provides all WHOIS information.
The regulator's registration data lookup tool allows you to access the current registration information for any domain name and Internet number resource.
It uses Registration Data Access Protocol (RDAP) in place of the former WHOIS (port 43) protocol to handle WHOIS requests. RDAP offers more benefits such as secure data access and user-friendly format.
To use ICANN Lookup, click on the link above, enter the domain name inside the "Enter a value" box and click Lookup. You'll find information about the domain, contacts, registrar, DNSSEC, etc. ICANN Lookup currently supports six languages.
2. Who.is
Who.is is another popular ICANN accredited WHOIS lookup website that also provides IP tools as well as website and domain name services. With the Who.is WHOIS lookup tool, you can access critical domain registration information.
Examples include domain registrar, status, expiration date, DNS name servers, domain owner administrative and technical contact details, as well as IP and IP location, web server, related domain availability, and premium domain listings, among others.
To use Who.is lookup tool, click on the link above, enter the domain name in the "Domain names and IP addresses…" search bar, and click the search button or press the Enter key on your keyboard.
3. Name.com
Third on our list is Name com, another simple but powerful ICANN-approved WHOIS lookup tool. Do not be fooled by its simple looks, this website can give you any WHOIS data you need.
With it, you can get WHOIS data like domain name, registry domain ID, registrar WHOIS server, registrar URL, registrar IANA ID, creation and expiration dates, among others.
To use Name.com's WHOIS lookup tool, visit the link above, enter the domain name into the "Domain name or IP address" search bar, click on the search button, and check the I'm not a robot reCAPTCHA box.
4. Namecheap
Namecheap is a popular domain registrar and web hosting company that also features an ICANN-approved WHOIS lookup service with which you can discover who owns a domain.
To do so, simply go to the website's WHOIS section via the link above, enter the domain name in the search bar and click the Search button. This way you can discover who owns the site, view their administrative, technical, and contact details.
This includes domain name, registrar WHOIS server, registry domain ID, registrar IANA ID, registrar URL, creation and expiration dates, among several others.
5. GoDaddy
GoDaddy is another well-known domain name registrar and website hosting company that also provides ICANN-approved WHOIS lookup services that help you to figure out who is behind any domain.
You can use this service whether or not you have a GoDaddy account. Simply visit the link above, enter the domain name of the site you want to verify in the search bar, and click Search.
You can get information like domain name, registrar, registrar WHOIS server, registrar URL, registrar IANA ID, registrar, registrant state or province, registrant country, and registrant organization, to name a few.
6. Domain.com
Domain.com is a full-featured domain name registrar and web hosting company providing a wide range of domain and web hosting services. In addition, it also has a functional WHOIS lookup tool.
To use Domain.com's WHOIS lookup tool, go to the link above, enter the domain name into the "Search the WHOIS database" search bar, click on the search button, and check the reCAPTCHA box to prove your humanity.
To view the result, scroll down the page. You'll find information such as DNSSEC, nameserver, registrar abuse contact phone number and email, domain status, domains with similar names, and many more.
7. Hostinger
Hostinger's WHOIS domain lookup service can help you find out all you need to know about a particular domain. It currently supports 41 languages and is absolutely free to use.
To use Hostinger's WHOIS lookup tool, click on the link above, enter any domain name in the search bar, and click the Search button. No reCAPTCHA is required.
Once completed, you can scroll down to view the domain's WHOIS record of publicly available information about the person or entity behind that particular domain.
8. Domain Tools
Domain Tools is another powerful WHOIS lookup engine that can help you to get all the publicly available information about the brains behind any domain or website.
To use it for free, simply click on the link above, enter the domain name into the search bar, click the Search button, check the I'm not a robot reCAPTCHA box, and click Go.
In addition to the regular WHOIS record you get with similar other lookup tools, you can also view the IP address, IP location, ASN, IP, registrar, and hosting history, among others. You can also use it to do a reverse WHOIS lookup.
9. EuroDNS
EuroDNS provides a wide range of domain and web-related solutions, including a WHOIS lookup service powered by ICANN with which you can access site owners' data.
To use EuroDNS' WHOIS lookup tool, visit the link above, enter the domain name into the search bar, click the WHOIS LOOKUP button, and confirm the reCAPTCHA to proceed.
This will produce the associated WHOIS record for the domain in question. You can also figure out when a domain's registration is expiring in case you want to buy it upon expiration.
It's Not Always Possible to Know Who Owns What
Some registrars provide a WHOIS protection service to protect customers from fraud, identity theft, and spam. Namecheap's WHOIS Guard and EuroDNS's domain privacy protection are two such examples.
In this case, if you run a WHOIS lookup for such domains, you'll see the registrar's WHOIS data instead of the customer's. However, the registrar has the customer's details, it just doesn't make it publicly accessible.