How to Find a Domain Owner

Written by Adam Parker
How to Find a Domain Owner

Part of owning a website domain name is providing accurate contact information. The InterNIC put these regulations in place to make it harder for unscrupulous individuals and organizations to hide behind domain names. The InterNIC also enacted regulations that make it possible for any person to find the registration information of these domain owners.

Skill level:
Easy

Instructions

Things you need

  • Internet access
  • Internet-capable device
  1. 1

    Open the official Whois website of the InterNIC. A link to the Whois website is in the Resources section of this article.

  2. 2

    Type the name of the domain. Leave the search type as "domain," and click "submit" to execute. The InterNIC records will return the name of the registrar responsible for the domain, and some other registration-related details.

  3. 3

    Scroll down the results page until you reach the header named "whois server." This is the official whois server of the registrar for the domain name. Copy and paste this domain address into Web browser. Go to the website. The website should appear very similar to the InterNIC's website.

  4. 4

    Enter the domain name into the search field, and execute the search by submitting the form. The registrar's search will return the name of the domain owner. Other information includes contact address, telephone number and email address.

Tips and warnings

  • Some website hosting companies offer an anonymity service to shield the identity of the domain owner. Instead of listing the domain owner's actual contact details, the listing will instead have contact details for the website host. If the domain owner's details are part of a legal fact-finding process, either attorney can subpoena the information from the website host.

Resources

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