How old is a domain?
A domain's age is the time since its current registration was created at the registry, the organisation that runs its top-level domain (Verisign for .com, for example). This tool sends the domain to our server, which queries that registry's WHOIS service, finds the creation date in the response, and reports the date plus an age in years and days.
Looking up a domain
- Type the registered domain only:
example.comorexample.co.uk. Leave outhttps://,www.and any path. - Click Check.
- You'll get two lines in this shape:
Registered: YYYY-MM-DD
Age: N year(s), N day(s).
The date comes straight from the registry record. The age is worked out on our server from that date to today's date. Input is lowercased first, so Example.COM works; a trailing dot (example.com.) is dropped, and an internationalised name such as münchen.com is converted to its ASCII xn-- form before the registry is asked.
Where the data comes from
WHOIS is a plain-text protocol: the client opens a TCP connection to port 43, sends the domain name and reads back whatever the server returns (RFC 3912). There's no standard response format, which is why WHOIS parsers are fragile.
This checker uses a fixed list of registry servers. It never derives a server from your input:
| TLD | WHOIS server queried |
|---|---|
| .com, .net | whois.verisign-grs.com |
| .org | whois.pir.org |
| .info | whois.afilias.net |
| .biz | whois.nic.biz |
| .io | whois.nic.io |
| .co | whois.nic.co |
| .dev, .app | whois.nic.google |
| .me | whois.nic.me |
| .tv | whois.nic.tv |
| .cc | ccwhois.verisign-grs.com |
| .xyz | whois.nic.xyz |
| .online | whois.nic.online |
| .us | whois.nic.us |
| .uk (including .co.uk) | whois.nic.uk |
The response is searched for a creation-date label, trying Creation Date: first, then Registered on: (the .uk format), created: and Domain Registration Date:, ignoring case. The first value that parses as a date wins. The connection times out after six seconds and at most about 100 KB of response is read.
When it can't answer
| Message | Usual cause |
|---|---|
Enter a valid domain name, e.g. example.com. |
You included https://, a path, spaces or an underscore |
No known WHOIS server for the ".de" TLD. |
The TLD isn't in the list above |
Could not reach the WHOIS server. Please try again. |
The registry didn't answer in time, or refused the connection |
Could not find a creation date in the WHOIS response... |
The domain isn't registered, you entered a subdomain, or the registry's format isn't recognised |
There's a longer-term reason the second and third messages may become more common. ICANN made RDAP, a structured JSON-over-HTTPS service, the replacement for WHOIS, and as of 28 January 2025 generic TLD registries are no longer required to provide WHOIS, with .com, .name and .post as exceptions. Some registries in the table may switch their WHOIS service off. Country-code TLDs such as .uk set their own policies.
What the creation date tells you, and what it doesn't
The creation date is when the current registration began. A domain that expired, was deleted and was later registered by someone new shows the newer date, so a "young" result doesn't rule out an older history under a different owner. Moving the domain between registrars or renewing it doesn't change the date.
The age is a calendar difference: whole years since the registration date, then the days since the last anniversary. To express the same span in months or weeks instead, use the date calculator with the Registered date.
On SEO: Google's guide to its ranking systems describes the systems it uses, from link analysis to freshness, and doesn't mention domain age. (The "exact match domain" system it lists is about the words in a domain name, not its age.) Don't buy an aged domain expecting the date alone to lift your rankings.
Where the date is genuinely useful:
- Checking a shop or sender before trusting them. A store claiming twenty years of trading on a domain registered last month deserves a closer look.
- Due diligence on a domain purchase. Compare the creation date with the history the seller describes.
- Investigating a lookalike domain that's imitating your brand, alongside its DNS records to see where its mail and web traffic point.
- Inventory work. Confirming when your organisation first registered a domain you've lost paperwork for.
To find which server hosts a domain once you know its age, resolve it with the hostname to IP tool.
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