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How to Find Out Who Your Domain Registrar Is

This guide shows how to find the company where a domain is registered. You need this to renew, transfer or edit the domain.

Domains and DNS2 min read13 steps

What is a registrar?

A domain is a website name, like example.com. A registrar is the company that sold you the name and keeps it on record. Think of it as the office that holds the paper saying the name is yours.

The registrar is not always your hosting company. You may have bought the domain in one place and your hosting in another.

Method 1: Use a WHOIS lookup

WHOIS is a public record about a domain. It lists the registrar, the dates and the name servers.

  1. Open a WHOIS lookup tool in your browser. Many free sites offer this.
  2. Type your domain name.
  3. Press Search or Lookup.
  4. Find the line named Registrar.

On Mac or Linux, you can use a command:

whois example.com | grep -i registrar

This prints only the lines about the registrar.

The owner's name may be hidden by a privacy service. The registrar name is still shown.

Method 2: Check your own records

  1. Search your email for words like "domain registration", "domain order" or "invoice".
  2. Look at the sender name. It is often the registrar.
  3. Check your bank or card statement for the payment name.

Method 3: Check the Hostvento client area

  1. Log in at https://secure.hostvento.com/clientarea.php.
  2. Click Domains and then My Domains.
  3. If your domain is listed, it is registered through Hostvento.

If it is not listed, it is registered elsewhere. WHOIS will tell you where.

Do not mix up registrar and name servers

Name servers tell visitors where your site lives. They may belong to a host or a service like a CDN. The registrar is where the domain itself is registered. They can be different companies.

What next?

  1. Go to the registrar's website and log in.
  2. If you forgot the login, use the password reset on that site.
  3. If you still cannot get in, contact that registrar's support.
Tip: If you think a domain should be with Hostvento but you cannot see it, open a ticket at https://secure.hostvento.com/submitticket.php.

Quick recap

  • The registrar is the company that holds your domain registration.
  • Use WHOIS and find the Registrar line.
  • Check old emails and invoices as well.
  • Do not confuse the registrar with the name servers.