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Whois API

The Whois API retrieves domain registration information for any given domain using the WHOIS protocol.

For basic domain availability information, check out our Domain API instead.

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https://api.api-ninjas.com/v1/whois

Returns domain registration details (e.g. registrar, contact information, expiration date, name servers) for a given domain name.

Parameters

  • domain  required

    Valid domain to check (e.g. example.com). For top-level domains other than .com, a premium subscription is required.

Headers

  • X-Api-Key  required

    API Key associated with your account.

Response

A JSON object with the following fields or an error if the request is unsuccessful. The exact set of fields returned varies by the domain's TLD and registrar — some fields below may be absent for a given domain, and some TLDs return additional fields such as emails.

  • domain_name

    The domain name that was queried.

  • registrar

    Name of the domain registrar.

  • registrar_url

    URL of the domain registrar. Not returned for all TLDs.

  • whois_server

    WHOIS server used for the query. Not returned for all TLDs.

  • updated_date

    Unix timestamp of when the domain was last updated.

  • creation_date

    Unix timestamp of when the domain was created.

  • expiration_date

    Unix timestamp of when the domain expires.

  • name_servers

    Array of name server hostnames.

  • dnssec

    DNSSEC status (e.g., signeddelegation).

  • emails

    Contact email(s) from the WHOIS record. Returned only for some TLDs (e.g. .org); not present for .com.

  • is_eu

    Whether the registrant country is an EU member state. null when the registrant country is not published — most registrars redact it, so this is unset for the majority of domains.

  • is_eea

    Whether the registrant country is in the European Economic Area. null when the registrant country is not published.

  • is_sepa

    Whether the registrant country is in the Single Euro Payments Area. null when the registrant country is not published.

  • registrant_privacy  Premium only

    Whether the registrant's identity is hidden. false when a real registrant is published, true when the record is redacted or a privacy service stands in, and null when no registrant record could be retrieved at all. This is the most useful field for checking whether a domain is owned by who you expect — a "hidden" answer is itself a signal.

  • registrant_org  Premium only

    The organisation that owns the domain, in its original casing (e.g. Google LLC). Absent when the registrant is not published, or when a privacy service stands in — see privacy_service.

  • privacy_service  Premium only

    Name of the privacy or proxy provider standing in for the registrant, when one can be identified (e.g. Domains By Proxy, LLC, Withheld for Privacy ehf). Absent when the registrar simply redacted the record without naming a provider. Note that several of these read like ordinary companies — DNStination Inc. and Domain Protection Services, Inc. are privacy services, not owners.

  • registrant_country  Premium only

    Registrant country as an ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code (e.g. US). Absent whenever privacy_service is set, because that address belongs to the privacy provider rather than to the registrant. Still returned for plainly redacted records, where registrars continue to publish the real country under ICANN policy.

  • registrant_state  Premium only

    Registrant state or province (e.g. CA). Absent whenever privacy_service is set, for the same reason as registrant_country.

  • registrant_name  Premium only

    The individual registrant's name. Rarely present: redaction of natural-person contact details is effectively universal post-GDPR, and this field was absent for every domain in our testing. Use registrant_org and registrant_privacy instead; do not build on this field being returned.

Live Demo

Live demo · no API key required
Query parameters
domain

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Headers
X-Api-KeyLog in or sign up to get your API key
GET
https://api.api-ninjas.com/v1/whois?domain=example.com
Sample response
{
"domain_name": "example.com",
"registrar": "reserved-internet assigned numbers authority",
"registrar_url": "http://res-dom.iana.org",
"whois_server": "whois.iana.org",
"updated_date": 1628924504,
"creation_date": 808372800,
"expiration_date": 1660363200,
"name_servers": [
"a.iana-servers.net",
"b.iana-servers.net"
],
"dnssec": "signeddelegation"
}

Code Examples

curl -X GET "https://api.api-ninjas.com/v1/whois?domain=example.com" \ -H "X-Api-Key: YOUR_API_KEY"

If your programming language is not listed in the Code Example above, you can still make API calls by using a HTTP request library written in your programming language and following the above documentation.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Yes, but you must have a premium subscription. Commercial use of the Whois API is not permitted on the free tier. See our pricing page to choose a plan that fits your needs.
  • Sign up for a free account to instantly get your API key, then pass it in the X-Api-Key header on every request. The documentation above includes ready-to-run examples in cURL, Python, JavaScript, Node.js, and more.
  • Your API requests will simply be denied once you hit your monthly quota — you will never be charged more than the plan you signed up for. To increase your quota, you can upgrade your plan any time on our pricing page.
  • The API responds with a standard HTTP status code and a JSON error message describing the problem. See our error codes reference for the full list of codes and how to resolve each one, or contact support if you need help.
  • A single GET request to /v1/whois returns a JSON object with the domain's registrar, whois_server, name_servers array, dnssec status, and Unix timestamps for creation_date, updated_date, and expiration_date. If the lookup is unsuccessful you'll receive an error instead, as described in our error codes reference.
  • Pass the domain you want to check in the required domain query parameter, for example domain=example.com. Note that domains with top-level domains other than .com require a premium subscription.
  • You can use the registrar and expiration_date fields to monitor domain ownership and upcoming renewals, verify a domain's creation_date for trust and fraud checks, or audit name_servers and dnssec configuration. For complementary domain data, pair it with the DNS Lookup API or the Domain API for availability.
  • The Whois API retrieves registry details such as registrar, name_servers, and registration dates via the WHOIS protocol, whereas the Domain API is geared toward basic domain availability. You can also explore related tools like the URL Lookup and MX Lookup APIs.

Explore API integration use cases for recommended APIs and workflow examples.