.gov Domain WHOIS & RDAP Lookup

.gov is a sponsored top-level domain (sTLD). Look up any .gov domain on W.is to see its registrar, registration and expiration dates, status codes and name servers over RDAP, with WHOIS as a fallback.

Example lookup: whitehouse.gov

.gov TLD facts

PropertyValue
TLD.gov
TypeSponsored TLD (sTLD)
StatusActive
WHOIS serverwhois.nic.govWHOIS server directory
RDAP endpointhttps://rdap.nic.gov/rdap/domain/RDAP server directory
IANA record updated
IANA record.gov in the IANA root zone database

How to look up a .gov domain

The quickest way is to type the domain into the search box above: W.is queries the .gov registry and shows the result in a readable format. You can also query the registry yourself from a terminal.

RDAP lookup

The .gov RDAP endpoint is https://rdap.nic.gov/rdap/domain/. RDAP returns structured JSON over HTTPS (RFC 9082 and RFC 9083); append the domain name to the endpoint:

curl -H 'Accept: application/rdap+json' https://rdap.nic.gov/rdap/domain/example.gov

WHOIS lookup

The .gov WHOIS server listed by IANA is whois.nic.gov. WHOIS (RFC 3912) is the older plain-text protocol on TCP port 43:

whois -h whois.nic.gov example.gov

Which protocol does W.is use?

W.is queries RDAP first for .gov domains and falls back to WHOIS when the RDAP server returns an error or leaves out data.

New to the protocols? Read what RDAP is and how it compares in RDAP vs WHOIS.

Frequently asked questions

What is the WHOIS server for .gov?

The WHOIS server for .gov is whois.nic.gov, as listed in the IANA root zone database. It answers queries on TCP port 43 (for example, whois -h whois.nic.gov example.gov). The .gov registry also offers RDAP, which W.is queries first.

Does .gov support RDAP?

Yes. The .gov RDAP endpoint is https://rdap.nic.gov/rdap/domain/. Append a domain name to it to get the registration data as JSON. W.is uses this endpoint first for every .gov lookup.

How do I check who owns a .gov domain?

Enter the domain in the search box on this page. W.is shows the registrar, registration and expiration dates, status codes and name servers reported by the .gov registry. Owner (registrant) details are often redacted for privacy; in that case the registrar is usually the way to reach the owner. Our guide on how to find a domain owner covers the other options.

When does a .gov domain expire?

Each .gov domain has its own expiration date, set by how long it was registered or renewed for. Look the domain up on W.is to see the expiration date reported by the registry. Our domain expiration guide explains what happens after a domain expires.