Also called Registration Data Access Protocol
RDAP, explained
The IETF standardized RDAP in 2015. Where WHOIS returns free text that varies by provider, RDAP returns JSON in a common format, supports internationalized data and allows differentiated access, so authorized requesters can see more than the public. As of January 28, 2025, ICANN made RDAP the definitive source of registration data for generic TLDs such as .com, in place of the sunsetted WHOIS services. Country-code registries follow their own policies.
For investors, the public record still shows what matters most: creation and expiry dates, the registrar, and statuses such as client transfer prohibited, redemption period or pending delete, which is how RDAP writes the EPP codes clientTransferProhibited, redemptionPeriod and pendingDelete. ICANN's own lookup tool at lookup.icann.org is RDAP-based. Personal contact details are usually redacted, so reaching an owner still means a registrar contact form, a privacy relay or a broker.
Because the output is structured, scripts and AI agents can check expiry dates and statuses across thousands of names reliably, a job that was error-prone with WHOIS text.
Example. An investor scripts RDAP queries across a watch list and flags every name whose status shows redemption period or pending delete.
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