How do I find out who owns my domain name?

By Kai M, Deliberate Design.

The short answer: look it up. Every domain has a public record saying which registrar holds it and when it expires, and for a .uk, who the registrant is. It takes a minute and it tells you whether the address on your van is actually yours.

For a .uk domain

Nominet runs the .uk register. Its WHOIS at nominet.uk shows the registrant name, the registrar, the registration and expiry dates. If the registrant is your business, good. If it is a designer or a company you do not recognise, that is who owns it.

For a .com and others

Use any WHOIS lookup site. Privacy services often hide the registrant name, but the registrar and the expiry date still show. The registrar is who to contact; they will deal with the account holder, which may or may not be you.

Where is it hosted

The record also shows the nameservers, which usually name the host. If they say wixdns, squarespace or a hosting company, that is where the site lives.

If the answer is not you

• Registered by your designer or an agency: ask for it to be moved to you. See our post on getting a domain back
• Registered under an old email you no longer have: use the registrar's recovery process with ID
• Expiry within a month: renew it today, whoever holds it

Keep a note

Write down the registrar, the login email, and the expiry date, and put the renewal in your calendar. On our plans we hold that note for you and the domain is in your name.