Free tool
Domain expiry checker
Type a domain. This asks the authoritative registry directly and shows you what it says — the expiration date, how many days are left, the registrar, the nameservers and every status code on the record.
What this actually does
Most domain expiration checkers read a WHOIS mirror — a copy of the registry data, refreshed on someone else's schedule. Usually that copy is fine. When it is not, it is wrong in the direction that matters: a domain that renewed yesterday can still read as expiring, and a domain that quietly lapsed can still read as active for days.
This page asks the registry. It sends one RDAP request from your browser to the registry operator for that TLD — Verisign for .com, PIR for .org, and so on — and shows you the answer it gets back. Nothing is cached, and there is no copy in between.
Your lookup does not touch our servers. RDAP endpoints permit cross-origin requests, so the query goes straight from your browser to the registry. We never see which domain you checked. That is a side effect of the design rather than a promise we are asking you to take on trust — open your network tab and watch.
Reading the result
The big number is days until the expiration date on the record. It is the right number to act on most of the time, and there are two situations where it lies, both of which this tool flags:
- A past expiry date is not always trouble. Registries auto-renew at expiry and give the registrar up to 45 days to cancel, so a domain showing
autoRenewPeriodwith a date last week is in a normal, safe state. - A future expiry date is not always safety. A domain carrying
clientHoldhas been pulled from DNS by its registrar — the site and email are already down — no matter how many months remain on the registration.
This is why the status codes are shown in full rather than reduced to a green tick. If you want the complete vocabulary, the status code guide covers every one of them and which ones actually mean trouble.
When a lookup fails
Two honest limitations. Some TLDs — mostly smaller country codes — still publish no RDAP service at all, and there is nothing to query. And a registry can be temporarily unreachable, which from a browser looks identical to a domain that does not exist. Where those cannot be told apart, this tool says so rather than guessing, because a confident wrong answer about a domain you are worried about is worse than no answer.
Checking more than one, more than once
A lookup is a snapshot. It tells you the state now and nothing about the state next Tuesday, which is the state that actually catches people out — the renewal notice goes to a mailbox nobody opens, and the first sign of trouble is the site being down.
That is the difference between this page and the product behind it. This checks one domain once. DropPerch re-reads the registry for every domain you give it, every day, and emails you at the thresholds you choose. It works across registrars and needs no transfer, because reading the registry needs no permission from anyone.
Common questions
Is this domain expiry checker free?
Yes, and there is no signup, no account and no limit. The lookup runs in your browser and talks to the registry directly, so it costs us nothing to serve.
Where does the expiration date come from?
From the registry operator for that TLD, over RDAP, at the moment you press the button. Not from a cached WHOIS mirror and not from our database. You can verify any result with the whois command on your own machine.
Why does the expiry date look wrong?
Two common reasons. Registries auto-renew a domain at expiry and give the registrar up to 45 days to cancel, so a date in the recent past with an autoRenewPeriod status is normal. And some registries publish the registrar expiry date rather than the registry one, which can differ by a day or two.
Does this work for every TLD?
Most of them. RDAP is mandatory for all gTLDs such as .com, .org, .net and the newer extensions. Some smaller country-code registries still publish no RDAP service, and for those there is nothing to query; the tool will tell you rather than guess.
Do you store the domains I look up?
No. The request goes from your browser to the registry without passing through our servers, so there is nothing for us to store.
What is the difference between this and domain monitoring?
This checks one domain once. Monitoring re-reads the registry daily for every domain on your list and alerts you before expiry, which is what catches the lapse nobody noticed. DropPerch watches 25 domains free.
One lookup tells you today. Monitoring tells you in time.
DropPerch re-reads the registry for every domain you watch, every day, and emails you before it expires. Any registrar, no transfer, 25 domains free with no card.