Domain Age & WHOIS Lookup
Registration date, age, registrar, and status — via RDAP, the modern successor to WHOIS.
How domain age lookup works
This tool queries RDAP — the structured, JSON-based successor to WHOIS — which auto-routes the request to whichever registry actually holds the authoritative registration data for the domain. That data includes when the domain was first registered, when it was last updated, when it's due to expire, and any EPP status codes currently applied to it (such as transfer locks).
Registration data is only one part of assessing a domain — pair this with the DNS Lookup tool to see how the domain is actually configured, and the SSL Checker to confirm its HTTPS certificate is valid.
Frequently asked questions
- What is RDAP?
- The Registration Data Access Protocol — the modern, structured-JSON successor to WHOIS. This tool queries rdap.org, which auto-routes the request to the domain's actual registry.
- Why might registrar or dates be missing for some domains?
- Not every registry publishes the same fields via RDAP, and some registrars redact registrant/registrar details for privacy. When a field genuinely isn't available, it comes back null rather than a guess.
- What do the status codes mean?
- EPP domain status codes (e.g. "client transfer prohibited") describe restrictions currently applied to the domain — passed through directly from the registry.
- Why does domain age matter for SEO?
- Older domains are sometimes associated with more established trust signals, since spam and low-quality sites are disproportionately newly registered — though search engines have downplayed domain age as a direct ranking factor in favour of content quality and backlink signals. It remains a commonly checked metric in SEO due-diligence and domain-purchasing decisions.
- What is RDAP and how does it differ from WHOIS?
- RDAP (Registration Data Access Protocol) is the modern, standardized successor to WHOIS. Where WHOIS returns unstructured, registry-specific plain text that's hard to parse reliably, RDAP returns structured JSON with a consistent schema across registries — making it far easier for tools like this one to query programmatically.
- What does the creation date of a domain tell you?
- It's the date the domain was first registered — combined with today's date, it gives the domain's age. It doesn't necessarily reflect when a website actually started operating at that domain, since a domain can sit unused for years before a site is built on it.
- Can domain age be transferred when a domain is sold?
- Yes — the registration/creation date stays with the domain itself through ownership changes, so a purchased domain retains its original registration date and accumulated age rather than resetting when a new owner takes over.
- What does domain expiry date mean?
- It's the date the current registration period ends. If the domain isn't renewed before that date, it typically enters a grace period, then eventually becomes available for anyone to register — letting a valuable domain lapse unintentionally is a common and costly mistake.