Domain Age Checker
Check domain registration age, WHOIS data, and trust score instantly. Verify domain history with WHOIS and RDAP lookups for any website.
Free Domain Age Checker: Verify Website History and Trust Score Instantly
Check domain registration age, WHOIS data, and trust scores in seconds. Discover when any website was registered, who owns it, and whether it's trustworthy—critical intel for SEO research, due diligence, and competitor analysis.
What Is Domain Age (And Why It Matters for SEO)
Domain age is the time elapsed since a domain name was first registered with a domain registrar. For example, if example.com was registered on January 1, 2015, its domain age as of 2025 is 10 years. While Google's John Mueller has stated that domain age itself isn't a direct ranking factor, older domains typically accumulate more backlinks, authority, and trust signals that do impact rankings according to Moz's domain authority research.
Research by Ahrefs analyzing 2 million domains found that domains over 3 years old rank 47% higher on average than domains under 1 year old—not because of age alone, but because they've had more time to build quality backlinks and establish topical authority. Domain age checking helps you assess whether a website has the history to back up its claims or if it's a newly-created scam site trying to fool users.
Key Data Points from Domain Age Lookup:
Trust Indicators
- • Registration date: When the domain was first purchased
- • Domain age: Years, months, and days since registration
- • Trust score: 0-100 rating based on age and history
- • Registrar info: Company managing the domain
- • Name servers: DNS hosting infrastructure
Risk Signals
- • Expiration date: When domain registration ends
- • Updated date: Last WHOIS record modification
- • Domain status: Active, locked, or transfer states
- • Privacy protection: Whether owner details are hidden
- • Very new domains: Under 6 months often indicates risk
Real-World Example: Spotting Domain Red Flags
amaz0n-customer-support.comamazon.comHow WHOIS and RDAP Lookups Actually Work
When you check a domain's age, our tool queries two protocols: WHOIS (the legacy text-based system from the 1980s) and RDAP (Registration Data Access Protocol, the modern JSON-based replacement). Both pull data from domain registries—the organizations managing each top-level domain like .com, .org, or .uk.
The Domain Lookup Process:
💡 Why No API Key Required
Unlike paid WHOIS API services that charge per lookup, WHOIS and RDAP are open protocols mandated by ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers). Registries must provide free public access to basic registration data—though they can implement rate limits. Our tool queries registries directly, so you get unlimited free lookups without signup.
Understanding Domain Trust Scores: The Math Behind the Rating
Our trust score (0-100) combines multiple age-based factors. This isn't a Google ranking signal, but rather a risk assessment tool based on fraud patterns. Research from the Anti-Phishing Working Group shows that 74% of phishing domains are less than 30 days old, while 93% of scam sites use domains under 6 months old.
Domains under 6 months receive 10-20 points. These are "infant" domains that haven't proven legitimacy. Scammers frequently register new domains for short-term fraud campaigns, then abandon them. Exercise extreme caution with very new domains, especially if they mimic established brands or request personal information.
Domains aged 6-12 months score 20-30 points. They've survived past the "quick scam" window but haven't built significant history. Legitimate startups fall into this range, but so do sophisticated fraud operations. Cross-reference with other signals like SSL certificates (use our SSL checker) and DNS records.
Domains aged 1-2 years score 30-50 points. They've demonstrated some staying power but lack extensive history. Many legitimate businesses in this range are genuine, but always verify business details independently. Check if the domain matches the company's claimed founding date—a "since 1985" claim on a 2023 domain is a red flag.
Domains aged 2-5 years score 50-75 points. At this stage, domains have survived multiple renewal cycles and likely serve established websites. Scammers rarely maintain domains this long due to costs and legal risks. This is the threshold where most legitimate businesses fall—old enough to inspire confidence without being legacy brands.
Domains aged 5-10 years score 75-95 points. These are established web properties with significant investment. Domain holders renewing for a decade demonstrate commitment—it costs hundreds in renewal fees and risks losing traffic if abandoned. Verify the domain age aligns with the business's public history using tools like Wayback Machine.
Domains over 10 years old receive 95-100 points. These are internet veterans with proven track records. Examples include established media sites, government domains, educational institutions, and legacy businesses. However, old domains can be compromised or sold—always check when the domain last changed ownership using historical WHOIS data.
7 Essential Uses for Domain Age Checking
1. Phishing and Scam Detection
Before clicking suspicious links in emails or social media, check the domain age. Phishers create fresh domains like "paypal-secure-login.com" or "microsoft-verification.net" days before attacks. Any financial site under 1 year old deserves scrutiny—verify it's legitimate through official channels, not through the suspicious link itself.
2. Competitor Research and SEO Analysis
Discover how long competitors have been building their domain authority. If a rival site ranks well with only 2 years of history, their content strategy is working—analyze their approach using our JSON formatter to parse their structured data. If they've had 10+ years to accumulate backlinks, you'll need a different strategy to compete.
3. Buying Expired or Aged Domains for SEO
Many SEO professionals purchase expired domains with age and backlinks, then redirect them or revive the sites. Check expiration dates to find domains approaching renewal deadlines. Domains 5-15 years old with clean histories (no spam penalties) can jumpstart new projects. However, verify backlink quality using tools like Ahrefs before purchasing—age means nothing if the domain has toxic links.
4. Due Diligence for Online Transactions
Before shopping on unfamiliar e-commerce sites, check the domain age. A 3-month-old "luxury watch" site selling Rolexes at 70% off is almost certainly selling counterfeits or collecting credit card data. Legitimate retailers have multi-year histories. Cross-check domain age with customer reviews on trusted platforms like Trustpilot.
5. Verifying News Sources and Information
Misinformation sites often use domains registered weeks before major events to spread fake news. If a "breaking news" site covering elections or health crises has a 45-day-old domain, question its legitimacy. Established news organizations have decades-old domains like nytimes.com (1995) or bbc.co.uk (1996). Use our DNS lookup tool to verify infrastructure matches claimed organization.
6. Monitoring Brand Impersonation
Set up alerts for new domains containing your brand name. Scammers register typosquatting domains like "g00gle.com" or "microso-ft.com" to trick users. By checking domain age on suspicious look-alikes, you can identify and report impersonation attempts before they damage your reputation. ICANN requires registrars to provide dispute resolution for trademark infringement.
7. Assessing Partnership and Sponsorship Opportunities
Before partnering with an influencer or website for sponsorships, verify their claimed history. If a site claims "trusted since 2015" but the domain was registered in 2023, they're lying about their track record. Check domain age alongside traffic estimates and social proof to validate partnership opportunities.
5 Domain Age Myths Debunked
Myth 1: "Older Domains Automatically Rank Higher"
False. Google's John Mueller explicitly stated in 2019 that domain age is not a ranking factor. What matters is what you do with the domain over time—build quality content, earn backlinks, establish expertise. A 6-month-old site with stellar content and 100 authoritative backlinks will outrank a 10-year-old site with thin content and no links.
Myth 2: "WHOIS Privacy Protection Means Hiding Something"
False. Privacy protection is a standard service offered by registrars to prevent spam and doxxing. Millions of legitimate website owners use WHOIS privacy to protect personal contact information from being publicly searchable. While scammers also use privacy services, its presence alone isn't evidence of fraud—evaluate domain age, SSL certificates, and business verification together.
Myth 3: "A Young Domain Can't Be Trusted for Any Purpose"
False. Every legitimate website started with day-zero domain age. The key is contextual evaluation—a 2-month-old domain for a local bakery's new website is fine if you can verify the physical business exists. A 2-month-old domain claiming to be "Bank of America's password recovery portal" is obviously fraudulent. Judge domains in context, not by age alone.
Myth 4: "Expired Domains Transfer Their Full SEO Value"
Partially false. When domains expire and are re-registered, they may retain some backlink value—but Google's algorithms detect ownership changes and topic shifts. The 2022 Link Spam Update specifically targets expired domain abuse. You can't buy a 15-year-old domain about knitting and instantly rank for cryptocurrency just because of its age. The domain's history must align with your content focus.
Myth 5: "All Very Old Domains Are Trustworthy"
False. Old domains can be compromised, sold to bad actors, or fall into disrepair. A 20-year-old domain that changed ownership 3 months ago and suddenly links to malware isn't trustworthy despite its age. Always check the "last updated" date in WHOIS records—major changes to old domains warrant investigation. Historical WHOIS tools can reveal ownership transfers.
Supported TLDs and Technical Specifications
Our domain age checker supports 30+ top-level domains (TLDs) by routing queries to the correct registry servers. Each TLD has its own WHOIS server and data format—we handle the complexity so you get consistent results.
Generic TLDs (gTLDs)
Country Code TLDs (ccTLDs)
Specialized TLDs
Technical Specifications:
- • Protocols: RDAP (HTTPS JSON) with automatic WHOIS (TCP port 43) fallback
- • Response time: Typically 500ms-2s depending on registry server location
- • Rate limits: Registries typically allow 10-50 queries per minute per IP
- • Date parsing: Handles 10+ date formats across different registry systems
- • Bulk checking: Up to 10 domains concurrently with configurable parallelism
Frequently Asked Questions About Domain Age
How accurate is domain age data from WHOIS lookups?
WHOIS data is the authoritative source maintained by domain registries, making it highly accurate for registration dates. However, some registries don't provide exact timestamps—you might see only the registration year for certain TLDs. Privacy-protected domains hide owner details but still show registration dates. For the most comprehensive data, we query RDAP first (more detailed) then fall back to WHOIS if needed.
Can domain age be faked or manipulated?
No, domain registration dates cannot be backdated or altered. Once a domain is registered, its creation date is permanently recorded in the registry's database. However, domains can be transferred between owners, and some sketchy sellers misrepresent a domain's age by conflating registration date with when they personally acquired it. Always verify dates directly through WHOIS rather than trusting seller claims.
What's the difference between domain age and website age?
Domain age is when the domain name was registered. Website age is when the actual site went live—sometimes years apart. A domain registered in 2010 might have sat unused until 2020. Check the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine to see when a site first appeared online. For SEO purposes, website age (content history) matters more than unused domain age.
Why do some domains show "N/A" for registration date?
Three common reasons: (1) The domain is available for registration and has no history, (2) The TLD's registry doesn't publicly share registration dates due to local privacy laws, or (3) The WHOIS/RDAP server is temporarily unavailable. Country-code TLDs like .de (Germany) have stricter privacy regulations that may limit public data access.
Does transferring domain ownership reset the domain age?
No, the original registration date persists through ownership transfers. When you transfer a domain between registrars or sell it to another person, the creation date stays the same—only the registrant contact information changes. However, the "last updated" date in WHOIS records will reflect the transfer, which can indicate recent ownership changes worth investigating.
How often should I check competitors' domain ages?
Domain age doesn't change frequently enough to require constant monitoring—a competitor's 5-year-old domain will still be 5 years old for the next 12 months. Check domain ages when conducting quarterly competitor analysis or when new competitors emerge in search results. Use bulk checking for efficiency—paste 10 competitor domains and analyze them all at once. Pair domain age checks with regular tracking of their SSL certificate updates and DNS changes using our other tools.
Privacy-First Domain Checking
Unlike some WHOIS lookup services that log queries or resell data, our domain age checker operates with your privacy in mind. We don't track which domains you check, don't require account creation, and don't monetize your search history.
No Query Logging
We don't store which domains you look up. Queries are processed server-side and discarded immediately after results are returned. No databases of user search history, no tracking pixels, no third-party analytics on the domain checker page.
Direct Registry Queries
We query WHOIS/RDAP registries directly rather than using third-party WHOIS API providers. This means fewer parties handle your queries—just you, our server, and the registry. No middlemen logging or monetizing your domain research.
Open Source Protocols
WHOIS and RDAP are open internet standards. Unlike proprietary APIs that could inject tracking or require authentication, these protocols are designed for anonymous public access. You're exercising your right to public registry data.
No Account Required
Check unlimited domains without signup, login, or email verification. We believe WHOIS data should be freely accessible as intended by ICANN policies. No paywalls, no "3 free checks then pay" schemes—truly unlimited access.
Complementary Domain and Security Tools
Domain age checking is just one piece of website verification. Use these related tools for comprehensive domain intelligence:
Start Checking Domain Ages Now
Verify website trustworthiness, research competitors, and avoid scams with instant WHOIS lookups. Our tool queries 30+ TLDs using RDAP and WHOIS protocols—no API keys, no signup, completely free.
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