Domain Availability Checker v2.0

Check how old any domain is. See the registration date and age from RDAP, plus the first time the site was archived online, its registrar, expiry, name servers, and status. Check one domain or paste a list.

Check a list of domains

We check with live registry data (RDAP) and DNS. We never log your searches and we do not register domains ourselves, so no one can grab the name you looked up.

Free, no signup. Your searches are not stored.

About Domain Availability Checker

A domain availability checker is a tool that tells you whether a domain name is free to register or already owned. The ToolsPivot Domain Availability Checker answers that question using RDAP, the registry-run protocol that officially replaced WHOIS for generic domains in January 2025, and falls back to a DNS nameserver lookup for extensions that do not run an RDAP server yet. Enter one domain, one bare name to test across popular extensions, or paste a whole list. Taken domains return the registrar and the registration and expiry dates. Available ones return a register link. No account, no search logs.

What a Domain Availability Checker Actually Checks

Availability is a registry question, not a website question. A domain can have no site, no email, and no DNS records at all, and still be registered and renewed for another nine years by an owner who never used it. Weak checkers get this wrong by pinging the domain over HTTP and reporting a failed request as availability, which is why a name looks free in one tool and firmly taken in another.

The authoritative answer lives with the registry operating the extension. Verisign runs .com and .net. Public Interest Registry runs .org. Each country-code registry runs its own. Ask the registry directly and you get the true registration state. Ask anything downstream, a cached zone file or a nightly export, and you get a snapshot that was accurate at some point in the past.

How ToolsPivot Domain Availability Checker Works

Normalize and validate the input. The scheme, the www prefix, and any path are stripped so that a pasted URL becomes a bare domain. Internationalized names are converted to punycode, then the result is validated before any query goes out.
Select the data source for that extension. The tool loads the official IANA RDAP bootstrap file, which maps every top-level domain to the registry RDAP server that serves it. The bootstrap is cached for seven days.
Query the registry, or fall back to DNS. If the extension has an RDAP endpoint, the tool queries that registry server over HTTPS. If it does not, and .io, .co, and .de are common examples, the tool performs a DNS nameserver lookup instead.
Interpret the response. On RDAP, an HTTP 404 means the registry holds no record and the domain is available. A 200 means it is taken, and the JSON payload carries the registrar, dates, nameservers, DNSSEC state, and status codes. On DNS, nameservers present means taken, and no nameservers means likely available, flagged as best effort.
Stream results as they resolve. The browser sends one domain per request and runs a pool of three at a time, with a single automatic retry if a query stalls. Results appear progressively rather than in one block, which keeps the tool from hammering any registry.

What You Get Back on a Taken Domain

Every RDAP response for a registered domain is structured JSON, so the same fields return in the same shape from every registry. The tool surfaces the ones that answer a real question:

Sponsoring registrar. The company holding the registration. Not the owner.
Registration and expiry dates. How long the name has existed and when it next lapses.
Nameservers. Where the domain currently points, if anywhere.
DNSSEC state. Whether the zone is cryptographically signed.
Registry status codes. The EPP codes that govern what can happen to the domain next.

Status codes are the field most checkers drop, and they are the field that changes decisions. A domain sitting in pendingDelete is weeks from dropping. One in redemptionPeriod has expired and can still be restored by its owner for a fee. One carrying clientTransferProhibited is merely under the default registrar lock. Reading the code beats guessing from the expiry date.

Nameservers and DNSSEC do similar work. A registered domain with no nameservers is parked or abandoned, and its owner may answer an inquiry. A domain with signed DNSSEC and a decade of renewals is not for sale at any price you want to pay. For the resolution detail behind those nameservers, pass the domain to the DNS lookup tool, and if you only need the address it resolves to, domain to IP is quicker.

What You Get Back on an Available Domain

For a name the registry has no record of, the result is a clear available status and a register link. There is nothing else to show, because there is nothing else to know.

For extensions without an RDAP server, the answer is honest rather than confident. A DNS-based likely available result means no nameservers responded, which strongly suggests the name is unregistered, and the tool says so plainly instead of dressing a guess up as a fact. Confirm at a registrar before you build a brand on it.

That refusal to convert absence of evidence into a positive answer is the most important thing the rebuilt tool does. The classic false positive here is reading no RDAP server for this extension as this domain is free. It produces the worst outcome: a founder printing business cards for a .io somebody else has owned since 2019.

Key Benefits

Registry-level answers, not scraped ones. Queries go to the registry operating the extension, so the status you see is the status the registry holds.
No false certainty on unsupported extensions. Roughly 72 percent of country-code registries publish no RDAP endpoint, and those results are labeled best effort rather than reported as fact.
Detail that registrar checkers hide. Registrar, dates, nameservers, DNSSEC state, and status codes come back on every RDAP-covered domain, with nothing gated behind an upsell.
No account, no daily cap. DSearch allows 50 domains per day before a paid plan; Collaborator stops unregistered users at 500. This tool applies neither a login wall nor a daily ceiling.
Nothing to front-run. This is not a registrar. It operates no cart, registers no domains, and logs no searches.
Bulk and multi-extension in one pass. Check one name across many extensions, or a pasted list, and export the available ones as CSV.

Core Features

Single-domain check. Paste example.com or a full URL and get status plus registry detail.
Multi-extension check. Enter a bare name and the tool tests it across popular extensions at once.
Bulk list check. Paste a list, one domain per line, and watch results stream in.
CSV export of available names. Pull the free ones straight into a spreadsheet.
IDN and punycode handling. Non-ASCII names are converted correctly before the query is sent.
RDAP bootstrap awareness. The extension-to-registry map comes from IANA and refreshes weekly, so newly RDAP-enabled extensions are picked up automatically.
Automatic retry. A single stalled query is retried once before the result is reported.
Self-hosted engine. RDAP over HTTPS and DNS, run in-house. No paid third-party API sits between you and the registry.

Who Uses This and When

Domain checking matters most when a decision becomes expensive to reverse: before an LLC filing, a rebrand, a client onboarding, or a portfolio bid. The tool earns its keep when you need to test many candidates fast, and when you need to know why a name is unavailable rather than only that it is.

Founders shortlisting a name. Test three candidates across .com, .co, and .io in one pass before committing.
Brand protection sweeps. Check your trading name across the extensions a squatter reaches for first.
Agency campaign work. Clear fifteen microsite names in the time a registrar search clears two.
Domain investors. Read expiry dates and status codes to find names entering their drop cycle.
SEO onboarding audits. Confirm which variants a client actually owns before drafting a migration plan.
Developers registering side projects. Skip the upsell funnel and get a straight yes or no.

One edge case worth naming: availability is a moment-in-time answer. A name that is free when you check it can be registered while you finish reading the result. Check and register in the same sitting.

Practical Workflows

Naming a New Company

Context: A founder has three candidate names and needs one that clears .com before an LLC filing. Process: - Feed each candidate through the domain name generator to surface variants. - Paste the full list, one per line, and run a bulk check. - Export the available results to CSV and rank them.

Result: A shortlist of registrable names in one session, with taken candidates eliminated before money is spent on branding.

Auditing a Client's Domain Footprint

Context: An agency is onboarding a client and must document which brand variants the client controls. Process: - Check the trading name across .com, .net, .org, and the client's country code. - Note the registrar and expiry on every taken variant. - Cross-reference each owned domain with a website SEO check and an SSL certificate check.

Result: A documented gap list showing which variants a competitor could register tomorrow.

Evaluating an Expiring Domain

Context: An investor spots a keyword-rich .com whose expiry date has passed. Process: - Read the registry status code to confirm the domain is in redemption rather than merely renewed late. - Check its domain age and domain authority to size its residual value. - Screen the name through a blacklist lookup before bidding.

Result: A drop candidate priced against real history rather than a guess from the expiry field alone.

Vetting a Dropped Name Before You Build on It

Context: A developer finds an available .com with a suspiciously good keyword match. Process: - Confirm the name has no active safety flags with the website safety checker. - Review its historical link profile through a backlink check and a page authority check. - Register only after the history comes back clean.

Result: A clean domain, or an early exit from a name carrying somebody else's spam penalty.

RDAP and WHOIS: Why the Protocol Matters

RDAP is the successor to WHOIS, and the handover was not gradual. ICANN sunset the WHOIS obligation for generic top-level domains on 28 January 2025, making RDAP the definitive source for gTLD registration data. Enforcement followed: in January 2026 ICANN revoked a registrar's accreditation for failing to implement RDAP.

The practical difference is structure. WHOIS returned free-form text over an unencrypted port 43 connection, formatted however each registry chose. RDAP returns typed JSON over HTTPS, with identical field names from every registry. A tool parsing WHOIS pattern-matches against dozens of layouts. A tool parsing RDAP reads an API.

Coverage is the catch, and it is uneven by design. ICANN governs generic extensions, and effectively all of them now serve RDAP. Country-code registries set their own policy, and most have not moved. A June 2026 analysis of the IANA bootstrap registry found RDAP endpoints for 70 of 248 country-code extensions. The absentees include .de, .jp, .io, .co, and .us. Coverage exists for .uk, .fr, .ca, .au, .br, .in, and .ai.

This is why one tool gives two grades of answer. A .com result is registry truth. A .io result is a DNS inference. Any checker claiming identical confidence across both is hiding something. For registration data an RDAP query cannot reach, a dedicated WHOIS lookup remains the right instrument.

Honest Limitations

No availability tool is authoritative at the moment of purchase. These constraints are worth knowing before you rely on a result.

Results are cached for six hours. This keeps the tool fast and query volume gentle on registries. It also means a domain registered in the last few hours can still return an available status. The cache is a deliberate tradeoff, not a live-every-time guarantee.
Most country-code extensions get a DNS answer, not a registry answer. For .io, .co, .de, .jp, .us and the roughly seventy percent of country-code registries with no RDAP endpoint, the result is inferred from nameserver records. A registered domain that was never configured has no nameservers and will read as likely available. Confirm at a registrar.
Available does not mean standard price. Registries reserve premium and restricted names that RDAP reports as unregistered. The registry may still quote four figures, or refuse the registration outright.
No registrant contact details are shown. ICANN's Registration Data Policy and GDPR redaction mean public RDAP returns the registrar, not the owner's name, email, or address. Any tool promising owner contact details from a public query is describing the pre-2018 internet.
Country-code eligibility is not checked. Several registries impose residency or business-presence requirements. An available .ca or .eu may still be unregistrable by you.
No price comparison and no aftermarket data. The tool answers whether a name is registrable. It does not shop registrars for you or surface Sedo and Afternic listings.
Bulk lists resolve steadily, not instantly. Three concurrent queries is a deliberate ceiling, so a list of two hundred domains takes time.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the ToolsPivot Domain Availability Checker free?

Yes, and free without a cap. There is no account requirement, no email gate, and no daily search ceiling. Every feature, including bulk checking and CSV export, works without signing in.

How is RDAP different from WHOIS?

RDAP is the registry protocol that replaced WHOIS for generic domains on 28 January 2025. It returns structured JSON over HTTPS rather than free-form text over an unencrypted port, so the same fields come back consistently from every registry. WHOIS still serves most country-code extensions.

Why are some extensions marked as best effort?

Because those registries publish no RDAP endpoint, so the tool infers status from DNS. Nameservers present means taken. No nameservers means probably free, but a registered-and-unconfigured domain looks identical. That gap is why the result is labeled rather than asserted.

Can I check one name across several extensions at once?

Yes. Enter a bare name with no extension and the tool checks it across popular extensions in one pass. Results stream in individually as each registry responds.

Does checking a domain reserve it or change its status?

No. Every query is read-only. RDAP retrieves a registry record; DNS retrieves nameserver data. Neither places a hold, and neither is visible to the owner.

Will I see the owner's name and email on a taken domain?

No. Registrant contact data has been redacted from public queries since GDPR enforcement began in 2018, and ICANN's Registration Data Policy formalized the minimal public data set. You will see the sponsoring registrar, the dates, the nameservers, and the status codes.

Why might an available domain still cost more than the standard price?

Registries reserve premium names that RDAP reports as unregistered because no registration record exists. The name is genuinely registrable, but the registry sets a higher price. Check the renewal cost as well as the first-year price before committing.

How current are the results?

Availability results are cached for six hours and the IANA bootstrap file for seven days. A domain registered in the last few hours may therefore still appear available. For a high-value name, verify at the registrar immediately before you buy.

Can I check country-code domains like .uk, .de, or .io?

Yes, all of them. Extensions with RDAP endpoints, including .uk, .fr, .ca, .au, .in, and .ai, return full registry detail. Extensions without them, including .de, .io, .co, .jp, and .us, return a DNS-based best-effort result.

Can I register a domain through ToolsPivot?

No, and that is intentional. ToolsPivot is not a registrar, sells no domains, and runs no cart. Available results link out to a registrar of your choosing, and nothing about your search is stored.

Can I export bulk results?

Yes. Available domains from a bulk or multi-extension run export as CSV. Taken results stay on screen with their registrar and expiry detail.

Could someone front-run a domain I check here?

Not through ToolsPivot. Front-running is a structural risk when a search tool is operated by the party that also profits from registering the name. This tool logs no searches, registers no domains, and has no registration pipeline to feed.