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RDAP and WHOIS data source

The registry service these registration figures were read from — RDAP where the registry runs one, WHOIS where it does not.

The service the registration figures above were read from. The row label says which protocol it was, "RDAP source" or "WHOIS source", and the value names the server that answered.

RDAP and WHOIS. RDAP (Registration Data Access Protocol) is the structured JSON successor to WHOIS. ICANN made it the official source for generic domains such as .com, .org and .net, and most country registries offer it too. SiteScan finds the right RDAP server through the public bootstrap at rdap.org, or asks the registry directly where it is missing from the bootstrap (DENIC for .de, EURid for .eu). WHOIS is the older plain-text protocol. The registries of .ru, .рф, .su and .by publish only on WHOIS, and a .eu whose RDAP server does not answer falls back to whois.eu.

Why a field may be missing

Registries decide what they publish. Since the GDPR, many hide owner data; DENIC shows neither the registrar nor any dates, and EURid's WHOIS has no dates. A missing row means the source did not publish it, not that something is wrong with your domain. When the expiry could not be read, a "Reason" row explains why, for example the error RDAP returned.

What to do

Nothing, as a rule: the row tells you where the figures come from and how far to trust them. For anything missing, your registrar account has the authoritative dates, including the registration expiry.

See this check on your own site

Run a free scan: the report shows this row for your domain along with the other checks of the site audit.

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