How to Find Out Who Owns a Domain Name

WHOIS services provide the contact information of domain owners.

A person who obtains a new domain name registers his information in the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) database. If you want to know the owner of a particular domain, ICANN offers a free service called WHOIS, which is a public access query service you can use to find the contact information of a registrant. The contact information shows the name, address and contact number provided when the domain was registered. You can access this database through domain-name registrar sites, and through specific sites offering WHOIS services.

Instructions

1. Go to a site offering WHOIS services, such as InterNIC.net, GoDaddy.com or Whois.net.

2. Enter the domain into the search form, then click "Submit."

3. View the registrant details displayed on the screen.

Tips & Warnings

• Some registrants opt to keep registration information private. This is a service provided by domain-name registrars, where they replace the registrant's information with a forwarding service.

References

• ICANN: Whois Services

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish
• InterNIC: Public Information Regarding Internet Domain Name Registration Services
• GoDaddy: Domain Name, Web and SSL Certificates
• Whois.net: Domain-Based Research Services