Overview
You can view a domain registration's information — where it is registered, ownership details, and where its nameservers point — in two ways:
- An online tool
- A command-line query
How do I view registration information?
You can use either of the options below to view information about a domain registration.
Option 1 — Using an online tool
The simplest way to search for domain registration information is to use an online tool in the following list:
Option 2 — Running a command-line query
To run a command-line query, you must log into a terminal via SSH. This can be a terminal on your computer or a DreamHost server.
Open a terminal and run the following command.
[server]$ whois example.com
For some domain extensions, you may need to check the record directly on that specific domain’s registrar server. However, there is no current standard for determining the responsible server for a domain extension. Some lookups require extra work, such as performing the search through the specific registrar of the domain name to retrieve ownership details. You can read more about this here.
In most cases, it is easiest to use a third-party site as described in Option 1 above.
How do I read the WHOIS response?
There are two parts to a command-line query:
- The central registry information
- The registrar information
Part 1 — The central registry information
Domain Name: DREAMHOST.COM Registry Domain ID: 494018_DOMAIN_COM-VRSN Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.dreamhost.com Registrar URL: http://www.DreamHost.com Updated Date: 2025-08-21T10:17:08Z Creation Date: 1997-09-23T04:00:00Z Registry Expiry Date: 2026-09-22T04:00:00Z Registrar: DreamHost, LLC Registrar IANA ID: 431 Registrar Abuse Contact Email: domain-abuse@dreamhost.com Registrar Abuse Contact Phone: +1.7148729370 Domain Status: clientTransferProhibited https://icann.org/epp#clientTransferProhibited Name Server: NS1.DREAMHOST.COM Name Server: NS2.DREAMHOST.COM Name Server: NS3.DREAMHOST.COM
The central registry information shows the domain name in question, the company that provided registration services, a link to its registration server, the domain status, nameservers, and creation/expiration dates.
Part 2 — The registrar information
After your client retrieves the central registry information, it will connect to the registrar's server to look up the contact information.
The information in the central registry is updated roughly every 24 hours, so if you see information in the registrar's section that is different than the central registry, try again in about 24 hours.
Registrar URL: WWW.DREAMHOST.COM Registrar: DREAMHOST Registrar IANA ID: 431 Domain Status: clientTransferProhibited https://www.icann.org/epp#clientTransferProhibited Registrant Name: Proxy Protection LLC Registrant Organization: Proxy Protection LLC Registrant Street: 417 Associated Rd #327 Registrant Street: C/O dreamhost.com Registrant City: Brea Registrant State/Province: CA Registrant Postal Code: 92821 Registrant Country: US Registrant Phone: +1.7147064182 Registrant Phone Ext: Registrant Fax: Registrant Email: yw3gazmc77btmtf@proxy.dreamhost.com
The registrar information shows the current contact information for the domain. This information should be kept up to date at all times, in case there is an issue (such as a domain ownership problem), which requires ownership details to be accurate in order to be addressed.