WHOIS

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Nominet is the official registry for all .UK domain names. As part of our service we maintain a directory called ‘WHOIS’ – an official listing of the full details of all .UK domain names. The WHOIS lookup tool searches our directory and returns information about the domain name searched for. The WHOIS lookup tool will return domain information for .uk, .co.uk, .org.uk, .me.uk, .net.uk, .sch.uk, .plc.uk, .ltd.uk, .cymru and .wales

Responses from WHOIS

Our WHOIS tool will tell you whether a domain is registered and if it is, provide details of the registration. We work hard to ensure the data we hold is correct and up-to-date through our ongoing data validation programme.

Please note that any sensitive registrant information provided will only be made visible within your own Nominet Online Services account for registration purposes. Following the launch of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) on May 25th 2018, Nominet took the decision to remove all sensitive registrant information from the WHOIS lookup.

Data release process

The .UK WHOIS does not show a registrant’s details unless they have given consent to publication. We provide registration data to third parties with legitimate reasons, such as enforcement of legal rights or use of our Dispute Resolution Service. To obtain non-public data you must submit a Data Release Request and provide us with your details (which will be disclosed to the data subject) and the reasons why you believe you have the right to access non-public data. Please send this to [email protected]. On receiving your request, we aim to reply within one working day. We will respond once we have processed the request.

Examples of legitimate requests are (non-exhaustive):

  • A trade mark holder wants to identify the registrant of a domain name so they can be included in a Dispute Resolution Service complaint
  • Solicitors acting for a party that is trying to enforce their Intellectual Property rights
  • A law enforcement agency requesting the data on a domain name

Complaints

If you have a complaint about our WHOIS data please visit our complaints page

WHOIS policies and rules