Domain registration status

A domain registration status is a label that describes whether a domain has a pending action or a restriction. A domain can have more than one status at a time. The labels help explain conditions affecting how a registration can be managed, but they do not provide a complete report on whether a website or email service is working.

Where can I see a domain's status?

Registration lookup results may show domain status codes. For many generic top-level domains (gTLDs), these codes are defined by the Extensible Provisioning Protocol (EPP), the system registrars and registries use to exchange domain-management requests. A lookup service may display an EPP code such as clientTransferProhibited or a more readable RDAP label such as “client transfer prohibited.” RDAP is a protocol used to look up registration data.

For example, Jordan checks jordan-studio.example in a domain lookup and sees clientTransferProhibited. That status means the registrar has set a restriction that prevents moving the registration to another registrar. It does not say that Jordan's website is offline. To find out why the restriction is there, Jordan should contact the registrar.

What do common status labels mean?

Status labels describe different kinds of registration events or restrictions:

• ok or “active” generally means there are no pending operations or prohibitions recorded in that status system.
• pendingTransfer means a request to change registrars is being processed.
• clientTransferProhibited or serverTransferProhibited means a registrar or registry has blocked transfer requests.
• clientHold or serverHold means DNS information pointing to the responsible servers is not being published, so DNS may not find services for the domain.
• redemptionPeriod means a deleted registration may still be recoverable through the registrar under the rules for that registration.

The prefix matters. In EPP, a status beginning with client is set by the registrar, while a status beginning with server is set by the registry. A server status can take precedence over a client status. A label can show which party applied the status, but it may not state the full reason; contact the registrar for details.

Does an active status prove that the website works?

No. A registration status describes the domain registration, not every service connected to the domain. An “active” or ok status does not verify that DNS records point to the right place, that a hosting server is online, or that the website itself is functioning. A domain can also have several status labels, so read the full result rather than relying on one word.

If a status suggests a restriction or pending action, ask the registrar what it means for your registration. If the status is normal but the website is unavailable, check the DNS configuration and hosting service separately.

Related terms

• Domain hold — a status that can stop DNS from finding services for a domain
• Transfer lock — a restriction that blocks transfer to another registrar
• Domain expiration — the end of a registration period and related statuses
• RDAP — a modern protocol for looking up registration data