Overview
A whois query displays information on where your website is registered. It also displays information on your Nameservers which shows where your site is hosted.
Using an online tool
This is the simplest way to search for the domain registration and ownership information stored in the public database. You can use websites like whois-search.com to check the current WHOIS records for domains.
Entering a WHOIS query from the command line
You can also perform a whois query from your computer if your operating system supports this. Open a terminal on your computer and run a whois query from the command line. For example:
[server]$ whois example.com
For some domain extensions, you may need to check the record directly on that specific domain’s WHOIS server. However, there is no current standard for determining the responsible WHOIS server for a domain extension. Some whois lookups require some 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 at:
In most cases, it is easiest to use a third-party WHOIS searching site to perform your whois lookup queries.
Breaking down a WHOIS query
There are two parts to a whois query:
- The central registry information
- The registrar information
The central registry information
Domain Name: DREAMHOST.COM Registrar: DREAMHOST, LLC Sponsoring Registrar IANA ID: 431 Whois Server: whois.dreamhost.com Referral URL: http://www.dreamhost.com Name Server: NS1.DREAMHOST.COM Name Server: NS2.DREAMHOST.COM Name Server: NS3.DREAMHOST.COM Status: clientTransferProhibited Updated Date: 27-aug-2014 Creation Date: 23-sep-1997 Expiration Date: 22-sep-2015
The central registry information shows the domain name in question, what company provided registration services, a link to their WHOIS server, the domain status, nameservers, and create/expire dates. After you have this information, your WHOIS client will generally 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 registrars WHOIS section that is different than the central registry, try again in abut 24 hours.
The registrar information
Registrar: DREAMHOST Registrar IANA ID: 431 Domain Status: clientTransferProhibited https://www.icann.org/epp#clientTransferProhibited Registry Registrant ID: Registrant Name: PROXY PROTECTION LLC Registrant Organization: PROXY PROTECTION LLC Registrant Street: 417 ASSOCIATED RD #324 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 Fax Ext: Registrant Email: YW3GAZMC77@PROXY.DREAMHOST.COM Registrar Abuse Contact Email: domain-abuse@dreamhost.com Registrar Abuse Contact Phone: +1.2132719359
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.
