{
"rdapConformance": [
"rdap_level_0",
"redacted",
"icann_rdap_technical_implementation_guide_1",
"icann_rdap_response_profile_1"
],
"objectClassName": "domain",
"handle": "83289076_DOMAIN_COM-VRSN",
"ldhName": "primus-design.com",
"secureDNS": {
"delegationSigned": false
},
"notices": [
{
"title": "Terms of Use",
"description": [
"Please query the RDAP service of the Registrar of Record identified in this output for information on how to contact the Registrar, Registrant, Admin, or Tech contact of the queried domain name.",
"",
"This RDAP service is provided by GMO Internet and only contains information pertaining to Internet domain names we have registered for our customers.",
"GMO Internet does not guarantee the accuracy of this data.",
"",
"By using this service you are agreeing;",
"",
"(1) only to use the data for lawful purposes.",
"(2) not to use any information presented here for any purpose other than determining ownership of domain names.",
"..."
],
"links": [
{
"value": "https://rdap.gmo-onamae.com/rdap/v1/domain/primus-design.com",
"rel": "terms-of-service",
"href": "https://rdap.gmo-onamae.com/tos",
"type": "text/html"
}
]
},
{
"title": "Status Codes",
"description": [
"For more information on domain status codes, please visit https://icann.org/epp"
],
"links": [
{
"value": "https://rdap.gmo-onamae.com/rdap/v1/domain/primus-design.com",
"rel": "glossary",
"href": "https://icann.org/epp",
"type": "text/html"
}
]
},
{
"title": "RDDS Inaccuracy Complaint Form",
"description": [
"URL of the ICANN RDDS Inaccuracy Complaint Form: https://icann.org/wicf"
],
"links": [
{
"value": "https://rdap.gmo-onamae.com/rdap/v1/domain/primus-design.com",
"rel": "help",
"href": "https://icann.org/wicf",
"type": "text/html"
}
]
}
],
"nameservers": [
{
"objectClassName": "nameserver",
"ldhName": "ns1.value-domain.com"
},
{
"objectClassName": "nameserver",
"ldhName": "ns2.value-domain.com"
}
],
"entities": [
{
"objectClassName": "entity",
"handle": "49",
"roles": [
"registrar"
],
"publicIds": [
{
"type": "IANA Registrar ID",
"identifier": "49"
}
],
"vcardArray": [
"vcard",
[
[
"version",
[],
"text",
"4.0"
],
[
"fn",
[],
"text",
"GMO Internet Group, Inc. d/b/a Onamae.com"
],
[
"adr",
{
"cc": "JP"
},
"text",
[
"",
"",
"26-1 Sakuragaokacho",
"Shibuya-ku",
"Tokyo",
"150-8512",
""
]
],
[
"email",
[],
"text",
"onamae@internet.gmo"
],
[
"tel",
{
"type": "voice"
},
"uri",
"tel:+81.357287900"
]
]
],
"entities": [
{
"objectClassName": "entity",
"roles": [
"abuse"
],
"vcardArray": [
"vcard",
[
[
"version",
[],
"text",
"4.0"
],
[
"fn",
[],
"text",
"Abuse Contact"
],
[
"email",
[],
"text",
"abuse@internet.gmo"
],
[
"tel",
{
"type": "voice"
},
"uri",
"tel:+81.337709199"
]
]
]
}
],
"links": [
{
"value": "https://rdap.gmo-onamae.com/rdap/v1/",
"rel": "about",
"href": "https://internet.gmo/",
"type": "application/rdap+json"
}
]
},
{
"objectClassName": "entity",
"handle": "COM-14502DB9530",
"roles": [
"registrant"
],
"vcardArray": [
"vcard",
[
[
"version",
[],
"text",
"4.0"
],
[
"fn",
[],
"text",
"Jiro Yoshida"
],
[
"org",
[],
"text",
"Primus design"
],
[
"adr",
{
"cc": "JP"
},
"text",
[
"",
"",
"2-1-2 Komagata",
"Taito-ku",
"Tokyo",
"111-0043",
""
]
],
[
"email",
[],
"text",
"jiro.yoshida@gmail.com"
],
[
"tel",
{
"type": "voice"
},
"uri",
"tel:+81.9014045314"
]
]
]
},
{
"objectClassName": "entity",
"handle": "COM-14502DB9535",
"roles": [
"technical"
],
"vcardArray": [
"vcard",
[
[
"version",
[],
"text",
"4.0"
],
[
"fn",
[],
"text",
"Jiro Yoshida"
],
[
"org",
[],
"text",
"Primus design"
],
[
"adr",
{
"cc": "JP"
},
"text",
[
"",
"",
"2-1-2 Komagata",
"Taito-ku",
"Tokyo",
"111-0043",
""
]
],
[
"email",
[],
"text",
"jiro.yoshida@gmail.com"
],
[
"tel",
{
"type": "voice"
},
"uri",
"tel:+81.9014045314"
]
]
]
}
],
"events": [
{
"eventAction": "registration",
"eventDate": "2002-02-02T15:00:00Z"
},
{
"eventAction": "expiration",
"eventDate": "2031-02-03T02:57:50Z"
},
{
"eventAction": "registrar expiration",
"eventDate": "2031-02-03T02:57:50Z"
},
{
"eventAction": "last changed",
"eventDate": "2023-11-01T06:58:46Z"
},
{
"eventAction": "last update of RDAP database",
"eventDate": "2026-07-20T05:25:24Z"
}
],
"status": [
"active"
],
"links": [
{
"value": "https://rdap.gmo-onamae.com/rdap/v1/domain/primus-design.com",
"rel": "self",
"href": "https://rdap.gmo-onamae.com/rdap/v1/domain/primus-design.com",
"type": "application/rdap+json"
}
]
}Everything you need to know about domain registration, WHOIS databases, RDAP, privacy protection, and DNS management. Whether you are buying a domain, investigating a brand, or troubleshooting DNS, this definitive resource covers it all.
WHOIS (pronounced "who is") is a widely used query and response protocol designed for querying databases that store the registered users or assignees of Internet resources, primarily domain names and IP address blocks.
Historically, when you registered a domain name, your personal contact information (name, address, phone number, email) was entered into a publicly accessible database. The purpose of this system, established in the early days of the Internet (the 1980s by the ARPANET), was simple: it allowed network administrators to find and contact each other to fix technical issues.
Technically, you don't "own" a domain name; you lease or register the rights to use it for a specific period (usually 1 to 10 years). As long as you pay your renewal fees to your registrar, you retain exclusive rights to use that domain name. WHOIS records indicate who currently holds this lease.
Today, WHOIS helps keep the internet organized and accountable. It is utilized by law enforcement to track down cybercriminals, by trademark lawyers to protect intellectual property, and by standard users to see if a desired domain name is available for registration.
RDAP stands for Registration Data Access Protocol. It is the modern, structured successor to the legacy WHOIS protocol. While WHOIS served the internet well for decades, it had fundamental flaws: lack of internationalization (poor support for non-ASCII characters), no standardized data format (every registrar formatted text differently), and no secure access (no HTTPS).
RDAP was developed by the IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) to solve these issues. Benefits of RDAP include:
Note: Many modern registries and lookup tools (including ours) now utilize RDAP endpoints on the backend to retrieve the most accurate and structured registration data, presenting it in a clean, human-readable format.
Our free WHOIS lookup tool simplifies the process of retrieving complex domain records. Follow these steps:
example.com) into the search bar at the top of this page. You do not need to include http:// or www..WHOIS records contain several standardized fields. Here is exactly what each field means:
The specific web address being queried (e.g., freeseomate.com).
The retail company (like GoDaddy or Namecheap) that sold the domain to the registrant and manages the registration on their behalf.
The exact timestamp when the domain was originally registered. A very old registration date often correlates with higher SEO trust.
The date the current registration lease expires. If not renewed by this date, the domain will eventually become available for others to register.
EPP (Extensible Provisioning Protocol) status codes indicate the locking and lifecycle status of a domain. Common codes include:
Historically, these fields displayed the name, company, address, phone, and email of the person managing the domain. Today, these fields are heavily redacted for privacy reasons (more on this below).
Understanding the domain lifecycle is crucial for domain management and acquiring expired domains. Here is the chronological lifecycle of a domain name:
The domain is not currently registered. Anyone can purchase it from an accredited registrar at standard pricing.
The domain is registered (for 1 to 10 years). The registrant must renew it before the expiration date to keep it active without interruption.
If the expiration date passes, the domain enters a Grace Period (typically 0-45 days, depending on the registrar). The website and emails usually stop working, but the owner can renew it at the standard price.
After the grace period, the domain enters Redemption (typically 30 days). The registrar returns the domain to the registry. The original owner can still reclaim it, but must pay a severe redemption fee (often $100 - $300).
Lasting exactly 5 days, the domain cannot be recovered by anyone. After this 5-day window, the domain is dropped from the registry database and becomes Available again (where it is often snapped up by automated drop-catching services).
In the past, registering a domain meant your home address and personal phone number were published to the internet for anyone to see. This led to massive amounts of spam, telemarketing, and even identity theft.
WHOIS Privacy Protection (also called Domain Privacy) is a service provided by registrars that replaces your personal data in the WHOIS database with the proxy data of a forwarding service. If someone emails the proxy address in the WHOIS record, the privacy service filters the email for spam and forwards legitimate inquiries to your real hidden email address.
The implementation of the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in 2018 drastically changed WHOIS. ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) implemented the Temporary Specification for gTLD Registration Data. As a result, most registrars globally now redact personal information from public WHOIS results by default, regardless of whether the registrant purchased a specific privacy add-on. You will typically see phrases like "Data Redacted for Privacy", "Statutory Masking", or "GDPR Masked".
With WHOIS privacy becoming the norm, verifying who actually owns a domain requires alternative methods:
/.well-known/) proves control over the hosting associated with the domain.<meta> tag to the homepage HTML.Even with redacted contact info, WHOIS lookups are heavily used for digital investigations:
WHOIS records and DNS (Domain Name System) are different but complementary systems. WHOIS tells you who owns the domain. DNS tells you where the website lives on the internet.
When you query WHOIS, one of the most critical pieces of data returned is the list of Name Servers (e.g., ns1.cloudflare.com, ns2.cloudflare.com). Nameservers act as the internet's phone book operators.
A Registry (like Verisign for .com) manages the master database of a Top-Level Domain (TLD) and operates the authoritative nameservers for that TLD. A Registrar (like GoDaddy) is a retail storefront that sells domain registrations to end-users on behalf of the registry.
Search Engine Optimization professionals use WHOIS data extensively for competitive analysis:
If you receive a suspicious email from security-paypal-update.com, a quick WHOIS lookup is your best defense. A legitimate PayPal domain will show a registration date from years ago and enterprise nameservers. A phishing domain will show a registration date of yesterday and a cheap, consumer registrar. To combat fraud, find the "Registrar Abuse Contact Email" in the WHOIS data and forward the phishing email to them for immediate takedown.
To ensure you never lose your valuable digital real estate, follow these core domain management rules:
Our WHOIS Lookup tool queries ICANN-accredited registries and registrars via the Registration Data Access Protocol (RDAP) or traditional Port 43 WHOIS queries. It parses the raw response to extract standardized fields such as registrar details, creation/expiration timestamps, authoritative nameservers, and domain EPP status codes. Data accuracy relies entirely on the upstream registry's live database.