UK WHOIS lookup: .uk and .co.uk registration data

How to look up a .uk or .co.uk domain

Enter the full domain, such as example.co.uk, in the free Domain Readout lookup. The tool uses IANA bootstrap data to discover the responsible RDAP service, requests the domain record and presents the useful fields in plain English. It also keeps a link to the raw registry response for verification.

Nominet is the registry for the .uk namespace. A registrar sells and manages the name for its customer, while Nominet maintains the central registry. If you need account help, renewal or a transfer, contact the registrar shown in the record rather than the registry in the first instance.

Is UK WHOIS being replaced?

Nominet describes its port 43 WHOIS service as at end of life and has published guidance for the transition to RDAP. RDAP provides registration data over HTTPS in a structured format. The familiar phrase “UK WHOIS lookup” will probably remain in everyday use, even when the result comes from RDAP rather than the legacy WHOIS protocol.

This change is about the access protocol, not a promise that every historical WHOIS field will become public. Publication remains subject to Nominet policy, registrar data and privacy requirements.

What a UK domain lookup can show

• The registered domain name and registry identifier.
• Registration, expiry or last-change events when published.
• The sponsoring registrar or registrar role entity.
• Domain status values that describe locks or lifecycle conditions.
• Nameservers recorded with the registration.
• A registry-published DNSSEC delegation signal when available.
• Notices, links and public contact roles returned by the source.

RDAP-published nameservers are registration data. They are useful, but they are not a complete live DNS lookup. Likewise, a DNSSEC flag does not validate the whole chain in real time.

Can you find who owns a .uk domain?

Sometimes a record includes a public organisation or contact role, but personal registrant details may be hidden. A redacted name, address, phone number or email address does not make the registration invalid or suspicious. Domain Readout displays only data that the authoritative source returns and does not infer a private owner.

Registration data is also not proof that the registrant operates the website. A developer, hosting provider, agency or separate business may run the service. Read why WHOIS information is redacted before drawing conclusions from a missing contact.

Does no RDAP record mean a UK domain is available?

Not necessarily. A name can be reserved, restricted, temporarily unavailable, unsupported by the queried service or subject to a registry condition. An expiring domain can also be renewed before it is released. Registrar checkout is the final test of whether you can register a particular name.