Domain Age Checker

What the Domain Age Checker checks

Every registered domain has a record at its registry: when it was created, when it was last changed, when the current registration runs out and which registrar manages it. For years this data came from WHOIS, a plain-text protocol with no fixed format. RDAP (Registration Data Access Protocol) replaced it with structured data over HTTPS, and since January 2025 it is the official source for generic top-level domains such as .com, .net and .org.

This checker looks up the domain you enter over RDAP and shows the registration date and the domain’s age, the expiry date with the days left, the date of the last update and the registrar’s name. It never reads or shows registrant names, addresses or email addresses. Some country-code domains have no public RDAP service; for those the tool says it could not find registration data instead of guessing.

Why it matters

Domain age on its own is not a ranking factor. Google’s John Mueller has said so more than once: an old domain does not rank because it is old, and a new one is not held back for being new. What age gives you is context. A shop or bank whose domain was registered last week deserves a second look, and buyers of an existing domain use the date to check the seller’s story.

The expiry date matters far more. When a registration lapses, the website and every email address on the domain stop working. After the registrar’s grace period and the redemption period, the name is released and anyone can register it, including people who buy expired domains for their traffic, their backlinks or the mail still sent to them. The result passes with 30 or more days left, warns under 30 and fails under 14. See our guide to domain expiry.

How to fix common problems

Turn on auto-renew at your registrar and keep the payment card on file current; many lapses happen because a card expired. Renew for several years if the registrar allows it, and set a calendar reminder a month before the expiry date as a backup.

Check the contact email on the registrar account. Renewal notices go there, so it should be a shared mailbox rather than one person’s inbox, and it should not be an address on the same domain: if the domain expires, you lose the mailbox that would have warned you. Turn on two-factor authentication and registrar lock as well.

If the dates look wrong, compare them with your registrar’s control panel; a recent renewal can take a little while to reach the registry’s RDAP service. For a domain you are about to buy, combine its age with its history in public web archives. The full PerfoMetrix audit shows the same registration data next to DNS, TLS and 170+ other checks.

Questions

Does an older domain rank better?

No. Domain age is not a direct ranking factor. An older domain may have earned more links and content over time, and those can matter, but the date alone does not.

Why can the tool not find my domain?

Some country-code registries do not offer a public RDAP service, or publish only part of the data. In that case the tool reports that no registration data was found; your registrar's control panel still has the dates.

Why don't I see the owner's name?

We never read registrant contact data, and it is not needed to check age or expiry. Since the GDPR most registries and registrars redact it anyway.

What happens right after a domain expires?

Usually the registrar stops resolving the domain or parks it, so the site and email go down. There is normally a grace period to renew at the usual price, then a redemption period with a higher fee, before the name is released. The lengths vary by registrar and extension.