Domain Age Checker

A domain age checker tells you when a domain name was first registered, when its current registration runs out and which registrar manages it. Ours reads that information straight from the registry responsible for the extension, using the modern RDAP standard, and adds a quick health check on expiry and transfer protection. It is handy for vetting a supplier or an unfamiliar website, confirming your own renewal dates, or checking the history of a domain before you buy it.

How to use the Domain age checker

1. 1 Enter the domainType example.co.uk or paste any address on the site. Subdomains are fine: we work back to the registered domain automatically.
2. 2 Run the checkSign in to your free account and start the lookup. We find the right registry for the extension and request the domain record.
3. 3 Read age and expiry firstThe first two rows show how old the domain is and how long it has left, with a warning or failure if expiry is close.
4. 4 Review lock, registrar and nameserversConfirm the transfer lock status, that the registrar is the one you expect, and that the nameservers match your DNS provider.

What a domain age checker tells you

Every domain registration is recorded by the registry that runs its extension: Verisign for .com, Nominet for .uk and .co.uk, and hundreds of other operators for the rest. That record includes the date the current registration began, the date it expires, the registrar acting for the owner, the domain status codes and the nameservers the domain is delegated to.

Our domain age checker turns those raw facts into plain answers. It works out the age in years and months, counts the days to expiry, tells you whether a transfer lock is in place, and shows the registrar, nameservers and whether the registry holds DNSSEC details for the domain. Personal details of the owner are not part of the result, because registries redact them. If you need the complete registration record, with the registrar's IANA ID and abuse contact, every status code explained and the raw RDAP or WHOIS data, use our WHOIS Lookup instead.

How the domain age lookup works: RDAP rather than WHOIS

WHOIS was the original way to look up domain registrations, but it returns free text in a different layout for every registry, has no standard way to handle privacy and runs over an unencrypted protocol. RDAP, the Registration Data Access Protocol, replaces it with structured JSON over HTTPS, defined in IETF standards. ICANN ended the requirement for generic top-level domain registries to run WHOIS in January 2025, and RDAP is now the authoritative source.

When you run a check, we consult the list IANA publishes of which RDAP server answers for each extension, then ask that registry for the domain. Because we cannot always tell where the registrable part of a name begins, for example in shop.example.co.uk, we try the longest name first and drop labels from the left until the registry recognises one. The registration and expiry dates come from the events in the registry's answer, and the registrar name from its registrar entity.

A small number of country-code registries, such as PKNIC for .pk, do not run RDAP yet. For those extensions the tool falls back to the registry's classic WHOIS server, found through IANA, and reads the dates and name servers from its text reply. Some of these registries publish less detail, for example no registrar name or transfer-lock status, and the result says so rather than guessing. Only if a registry offers neither RDAP nor WHOIS does the tool report the extension as not covered.

Reading your domain age results

Note that .uk domains move between registrars by changing the IPS tag rather than with an authorisation code, so many .uk results show no transfer-prohibited status. For .uk, that warning matters less than keeping your registrar account secure.

• Domain age (information): the age in years and months, or just months or days for a young domain, with the registration date. Domains under a year old carry a short note to take extra care with unknown sites.
• Domain is not due to expire soon (pass): more than 90 days remain, shown with the expiry date and day count.
• Domain expires in N days (warning): between 30 and 90 days left. Check that auto-renew is on and the payment card is valid.
• Domain expires in N days or Domain has expired (fail): fewer than 30 days remain, or the expiry date has passed.
• Transfer lock is on (pass) or No transfer lock (warning): based on transfer-prohibited status codes such as clientTransferProhibited.
• Registrar, Nameservers and DNSSEC (information): who manages the registration, where DNS is delegated, and whether the registry holds signed delegation details.
• Registered domain (information): shown when you entered a subdomain, naming the domain that is actually registered.

Domain expiry: what happens and how to avoid losing a name

For most generic domains such as .com, an expired name enters a grace period set by the registrar, often up to 45 days, during which the website and email usually stop working but you can still renew at the normal price. After that comes a 30-day redemption period with a much higher restore fee, followed by five days pending deletion before the name is released to anyone.

For .uk domains, Nominet suspends the domain 30 days after expiry, so it stops resolving, and cancels it at 90 days, after which it can be registered by someone else. Your registrar may suspend services sooner than that.

To avoid ever reaching that stage, follow a simple routine:

• Turn on auto-renew with your registrar and check the card on file before it expires.
• Make sure the account contact email is not on the domain itself, so renewal notices still arrive if the domain lapses.
• Renew important domains for several years at a time and record the expiry dates in a shared calendar.
• Run the domain age checker on every domain you own once a quarter, including old brand and campaign domains.

Using domain age to vet websites and suppliers

A brand-new domain is not proof of a scam, because every legitimate business starts somewhere. But a site claiming decades of trading, offering prices that seem too good, or sending an invoice with changed bank details from a domain registered last week deserves extra scrutiny. Compare the domain with the one on earlier emails, look it up on Companies House, and phone the supplier on a number you already hold before paying.

Bear in mind what the date really measures. The registration date resets if a domain expires, is deleted and is registered again, so a long-established brand can show a recent date after a lapse. The reverse also happens: a domain bought from its previous owner keeps its original date even though the website on it is new. Age is one signal among several, never a verdict.

Protecting a domain you own

If the checker shows a registrar or nameservers you do not recognise, find out why before anything else. It may be a legitimate change by your web developer, or an early sign that someone else has gained access to your domain.

• Keep the transfer lock on for generic domains, and remove it only while you are deliberately moving registrar.
• Turn on two-factor authentication for your registrar account, which is the single biggest protection against hijacking.
• Register domains in the business name, not in the name of a staff member or web designer, so control never leaves with them.
• For high-value .uk names, ask your registrar about Nominet's Domain Lock service, which adds a manual check before changes are made.
• Keep registrant details accurate. Nominet can suspend .uk domains whose registrant information fails validation.

Examples you can copy

curl -s https://data.iana.org/rdap/dns.json | grep -o '"https://rdap[^"]*nominet[^"]*"'
curl -s -H "Accept: application/rdap+json" https://rdap.verisign.com/com/v1/domain/example.com

{
  "objectClassName": "domain",
  "ldhName": "example.co.uk",
  "status": ["active", "client transfer prohibited"],
  "events": [
    { "eventAction": "registration", "eventDate": "2009-04-15T00:00:00Z" },
    { "eventAction": "expiration", "eventDate": "2027-04-15T00:00:00Z" },
    { "eventAction": "last changed", "eventDate": "2025-03-02T10:12:44Z" }
  ],
  "nameservers": [ { "ldhName": "ns1.example.net" }, { "ldhName": "ns2.example.net" } ],
  "secureDNS": { "delegationSigned": false }
}

clientTransferProhibited  - registrar lock on; transfers refused until removed
clientDeleteProhibited    - registrar will not allow deletion
serverTransferProhibited  - registry-level lock, often after a recent change
autoRenewPeriod           - recently auto-renewed by the registry
redemptionPeriod          - expired and deleted; can be restored for a fee
pendingDelete             - about to be released; cannot be renewed

Common mistakes to avoid

Frequently asked questions