RDAP
RDAP (Registration Data Access Protocol) is the IETF-standardized successor to WHOIS for looking up who registered a domain or IP address block. Unlike WHOIS's loosely defined, plain-text, per-registry output formats, RDAP returns structured JSON over HTTPS with a consistent schema across registries, making it far easier for software to parse reliably and supporting features WHOIS lacked, like internationalization and differentiated access levels for redacted personal data under privacy rules like GDPR. Most domain and IP registries now run RDAP services alongside legacy WHOIS, and RDAP is gradually becoming the primary lookup method as WHOIS is phased down.
By AdminKit team, Netbase JSC · Updated