Registration Data Directory Services (RDDS) is the official system used to look up publicly available information about a domain name registration. You may know it more commonly as WHOIS - RDDS is ICANN's current term for the same service.
RDDS applies to ICANN-sponsored Generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs) such as .com, .net, .org, .info, and .biz. Country code domains (ccTLDs) operate their own directory services.
What does RDDS show?
A domain's RDDS record may include:
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Domain name and registration status
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Registrar name and contact details
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Registration, expiry, and last updated dates
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Name server information
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Registrant and contact details. This subject to privacy redaction
What about privacy?
Since ICANN's Registration Data Policy (fully effective August 2025), personally identifiable information, such as individual names, personal email addresses, phone numbers, is routinely withheld from public RDDS results.
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Individual registrants: personal contact details are generally not publicly displayed.
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Organization registrants: the organization name is only published if you have opted in.
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At 101domain, this is off by default. To manage this in your account, see Managing Your Registrant Organization: Publication and Privacy Settings.
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Domain and registrar data: always visible regardless of privacy settings.
WHOIS vs. RDAP
WHOIS is the original query protocol, in use since the early days of the internet. As of January 2025, ICANN phased out WHOIS obligations for gTLD registries and registrars, replacing it with RDAP (Registration Data Access Protocol) — a more modern standard with better security and internationalization support.
For most customers the experience is the same. The difference is in the underlying technology, not what you see.
You can look up RDDS data for any gTLD domain at:
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WHOIS Search: Use our WHOIS Search tool for a quick, human-friendly lookup of any domain's registration data.
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RDAP API: Query our RDAP server directly to return structured JSON results at
https://rdap.101domain.com/v1/domain/{domain}. Enter the domain name you want to check, for example: https://rdap.101domain.com/v1/domain/example.com.
This tool is useful for programmatic lookups. -
You can also use the ICANN Lookup Tool, a free public service that queries registration data from the relevant registry operator or registrar in real time.
If you have any questions, contact our Support Team at 877.983.6624 (US) or +1.760.444.8674 (International).