🌐 RDAP Domain Lookup Scraper (WHOIS Replacement)

🚀 Bulk domain registration data in seconds. Hit the modern RDAP protocol for any list of domains and pull back registrar, registration date, expiration, nameservers, registrant, DNSSEC, abuse contact, and status flags. No WHOIS rate-limit dance, no per-TLD parser.

🕒 Last updated: 2026-05-13 · 📊 16 fields per record · 🌍 Any-TLD coverage via IANA bootstrap · 🛡️ RDAP-native JSON

The RDAP Domain Lookup Scraper uses the IANA RDAP bootstrap to route each domain to the correct authoritative registry server (Verisign for .com/.net, PIR for .org, Identity Digital for .cloud, and so on) and parses the structured JSON response into a clean flat record. Every lookup returns registrar, registration date, expiration date, last-changed date, nameservers, registrant entities, registrar IANA ID, abuse contact, DNSSEC delegation, status flags, and the underlying RDAP server URL.

RDAP is the official IETF successor to WHOIS and is mandated by ICANN for every gTLD. Coverage spans the global gTLD namespace plus the ccTLDs and new gTLDs that publish RDAP servers (most do). For TLDs that have not yet published RDAP (a small set including .io and .dev), the Actor records a clean error row rather than guessing.

🎯 Target Audience	💡 Primary Use Cases
Domain investors, brand-protection teams, threat-intel analysts, M&A diligence, registrar resellers, security researchers	Bulk WHOIS replacement, expiration monitoring, registrar attribution, abuse-contact harvesting, DNSSEC audits, domain portfolio tracking

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📋 What the RDAP Lookup Scraper does

Four lookup workflows in one Actor:

• 🌐 Bulk WHOIS replacement. Resolve any list of domains across any TLD that publishes RDAP.
• 🕒 Expiration monitoring. Pull registration and expiration dates to alert ahead of renewal.
• 🏢 Registrar attribution. See which registrar (and IANA ID) controls each domain.
• 🛡️ Abuse contact harvesting. Get the registrar's published abuse email and phone for every domain.

Each lookup returns the domain's RDAP ldhName, the registry server hit, registration/expiration/last-changed dates, nameservers, registrar, registrar IANA ID, abuse role contact, status flags, raw entity blocks, DNSSEC delegation, and the RDAP server URL used for the resolution.

💡 Why it matters: WHOIS is being deprecated. RDAP is the modern, structured replacement, but every TLD has its own server and quirks. This Actor handles the bootstrap, the redirects, and the JSON parsing so you never write registry-specific code again.

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🎬 Full Demo

🚧 Coming soon: a 3-minute walkthrough showing a bulk lookup, expiration alert, and abuse-contact export.

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⚙️ Input

Input	Type	Default	Behavior
domains	string[]	["apify.com","wikipedia.org","github.io"]	One domain per line. Any TLD that publishes RDAP works.
maxItems	integer	10	Records to return. Free plan caps at 10, paid plan at 1,000,000.
concurrency	integer	5	Parallel RDAP requests. Registries rate-limit aggressively. Keep low for bulk lookups.

Example: bulk lookup of a domain portfolio.

{
    "domains": [
        "google.com",
        "wikipedia.org",
        "icann.org",
        "cloudflare.com",
        "example.net"
    ],
    "maxItems": 100,
    "concurrency": 5
}

Example: expiration check on a list of brands.

{
    "domains": [
        "apify.com",
        "openai.com",
        "anthropic.com"
    ],
    "concurrency": 3
}

⚠️ Good to Know: a handful of ccTLDs (notably .io and .dev at time of writing) have not yet published RDAP servers. For those domains the Actor records an error row with the reason. Most gTLDs (.com, .net, .org, .io may switch over, .cloud, .app, .dev may switch over, etc.) are fully supported.

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📊 Output

Each lookup carries 16 fields. Download as CSV, Excel, JSON, or XML.

🧾 Schema

Field	Type	Example
🌐 domain	string	"google.com"
🪪 ldhName	string	"GOOGLE.COM"
🏢 registry	string	"rdap.verisign.com"
🚦 status	string[]	["client delete prohibited","server delete prohibited"]
📜 events	object[]	[{ "action": "registration", "date": "1997-09-15T04:00:00Z" }]
🎂 registrationDate	ISO 8601	"1997-09-15T04:00:00Z"
⏳ expirationDate	ISO 8601	"2028-09-14T04:00:00Z"
🔄 lastChangedDate	ISO 8601	"2019-09-09T15:39:04Z"
🛰️ nameservers	string[]	["NS1.GOOGLE.COM","NS2.GOOGLE.COM"]
🏷️ registrar	string	"MarkMonitor Inc."
🆔 registrarIanaId	string	"292"
🚨 abuse	object	{ "email": "abuse@registrar", "phone": "+1.555…" }
👥 entities	object[]	full RDAP entity blocks
🔐 secureDNS	object	{ "delegationSigned": false, "dsDataCount": 0 }
🔗 rdapServer	string	"https://rdap.verisign.com/com/v1"
🕒 scrapedAt	ISO 8601	"2026-05-13T22:25:21.044Z"

📦 Sample records

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✨ Why choose this Actor

	Capability
🌐	IANA bootstrap built in. Every domain is routed to its registry's RDAP endpoint automatically.
🏷️	Modern, structured JSON. Skip ad-hoc WHOIS text parsing.
🚨	Abuse contact extracted. Registrar abuse email and phone surface as first-class fields.
🔐	DNSSEC signal. delegationSigned and dsDataCount tell you if a domain is DNSSEC-protected.
⚡	Tunable concurrency. Up to 20 parallel RDAP requests, defaults to 5 to stay polite.
🚫	No API key. RDAP is a public IETF protocol. No registration needed.
🔁	Always fresh. Every run hits the live registry server.

📊 RDAP is the IETF and ICANN-mandated WHOIS replacement and is already required for every gTLD registrar. Lean into the new standard.

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📈 How it compares to alternatives

Approach	Cost	Coverage	Refresh	Format	Setup
⭐ RDAP Lookup Scraper (this Actor)	$5 free credit, then pay-per-use	All RDAP-publishing TLDs	Live per run	Structured JSON	⚡ 2 min
Raw WHOIS via port 43	Free	All TLDs	Live	Ad-hoc text	🐢 Per-TLD parsers
Commercial WHOIS API	$$	All TLDs	Cached + live	JSON	⏳ Vendor onboarding
Hand-built RDAP client	Engineering time	All TLDs	Live	JSON	🕒 Days

Pick this Actor when you want modern RDAP data without writing the bootstrap, redirect handling, and parser yourself.

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🚀 How to use

1. 📝 Sign up. Create a free account with $5 credit (takes 2 minutes).
2. 🌐 Open the Actor. Go to the RDAP Domain Lookup Scraper page on the Apify Store.
3. 🎯 Paste your domains. One domain per line in the domains field.
4. 🚀 Run it. Click Start and let the Actor walk your list.
5. 📥 Download. Grab results in the Dataset tab as CSV, Excel, JSON, or XML.

⏱️ Total time from signup to a fresh registrar export: 3-5 minutes. No coding required.

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💼 Business use cases

🏷️ Brand Protection Daily checks on expiration dates for your portfolio Abuse-contact extraction for takedown filings Monitor registrar changes that could signal hijack risk Catch unauthorized status flag changes	💼 Domain Investing Bulk expiration scans on watchlists Drop-catch timing on premium portfolios Registrar mix analysis for portfolio diversification DNSSEC adoption signal across your inventory
🕵️ Threat Intel & Fraud Registrant pivots on suspicious campaigns Newly registered domain (NRD) age signals Cluster phishing operations by shared registrar Pivot from urlscan results into RDAP attribution	📊 M&A & Diligence Verify a target's domain portfolio ownership Date-stamped records for IP audits Nameserver footprint and hosting hints Abuse-contact and registrar contact coverage

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🔌 Automating RDAP Lookup Scraper

Control the scraper programmatically for scheduled runs and pipeline integrations:

• 🟢 Node.js. Install the apify-client NPM package.
• 🐍 Python. Use the apify-client PyPI package.
• 📚 See the Apify API documentation for full details.

The Apify Schedules feature lets you trigger this Actor on any cron interval. Daily expiration sweeps, weekly registrar audits, and monthly portfolio refreshes keep your downstream database in sync.

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🌟 Beyond business use cases

RDAP data feeds far more than commercial workflows. The same structured records support research, civic transparency, and personal projects.

🎓 Research and academia DNS infrastructure papers and longitudinal studies DNSSEC adoption tracking over time Registrar concentration research Reproducible domain history datasets	🎨 Personal and creative Personal domain portfolio dashboards "Domain expiration" reminders for your hobby sites Side projects around namespace analytics Indie tools for fellow domainers
🤝 Non-profit and civic Tracking ownership of news and civic-society domains Investigative journalism on shell-org domain footprints Election-period domain registration monitoring Open data on registrar abuse-response performance	🧪 Experimentation Train ML models on registration patterns and tlds Prototype agents that triage abuse complaints Build domain-reputation features for risk engines Stress-test RDAP-aware integrations

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🤖 Ask an AI assistant about this scraper

Open a ready-to-send prompt about this ParseForge actor in the AI of your choice:

• 💬 ChatGPT
• 🧠 Claude
• 🔍 Perplexity
• 🅒 Copilot

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❓ Frequently Asked Questions

🧩 How does it work?

Drop a list of domains into domains. The Actor downloads the IANA RDAP bootstrap, maps each TLD to its authoritative RDAP server, hits the server, follows redirects, parses the JSON, and emits a flat row per domain. Failed lookups are recorded as error rows.

🆚 How is RDAP different from WHOIS?

RDAP is the IETF and ICANN-mandated successor to WHOIS. It returns structured JSON over HTTPS with standardized field names, status codes, redirects, and rate limits. WHOIS is a 40-year-old text protocol with ad-hoc formatting per registry. RDAP is what registrars and registries are required to support today.

🌍 Which TLDs are supported?

Every TLD that publishes an RDAP server in the IANA bootstrap is supported. That covers the entire gTLD namespace and most ccTLDs. A small number of ccTLDs (notably .io and .dev at time of writing) have not yet published RDAP servers and will return an error row.

🛡️ Does this include privacy-redacted contact info?

Yes. Post-GDPR, most public RDAP responses redact registrant contact details. The Actor returns whatever the registry actually publishes, including registrar contact and the abuse role contact, which is the official channel for takedown reports.

🔁 How fresh is the data?

Every run hits the registry's live RDAP server. Data is as fresh as the registry chooses to publish.

⚡ How fast is bulk lookup?

With the default concurrency of 5, expect roughly 5 lookups per second across registries. Most registry RDAP servers rate-limit aggressively, so do not crank concurrency past 10-20 for bulk runs.

⏰ Can I schedule recurring runs?

Yes. Use Apify Schedules to run the Actor daily, weekly, or hourly and feed results into your warehouse.

⚖️ Is this data legal to use?

Yes. RDAP responses are public by design. Comply with each registry's terms of service and applicable data-protection law for any downstream use.

💳 Do I need a paid Apify plan?

No. The free plan covers small batches (10 lookups). A paid plan unlocks higher limits and scheduling.

🆘 What if I need help?

Contact us through the form below to request a custom domain workflow, a private feed, or a feature.

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🔌 Integrate with any app

RDAP Domain Lookup Scraper connects to any cloud service via Apify integrations:

• Make - Automate multi-step domain workflows
• Zapier - Connect with 5,000+ apps
• Slack - Get expiration alerts in your channels
• Airbyte - Pipe RDAP records into your warehouse
• GitHub - Trigger runs from commits and releases
• Google Drive - Export datasets straight to Sheets

You can also use webhooks to trigger downstream actions. Push fresh RDAP records into your CRM or alert your team in Slack.

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🔗 Recommended Actors

• 🛡️ urlscan.io Threat Intelligence Scraper - Pair RDAP with live scan data
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• 🏗️ Hubspot Marketplace Scraper - Marketplace app and integration catalog
• 📰 PR Newswire Scraper - Press release feed with publish dates
• 🏢 GSA eLibrary Scraper - U.S. federal contract vendor and price data

💡 Pro Tip: browse the complete ParseForge collection for more reference-data scrapers.

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🆘 Need Help? Open our contact form to request a new scraper, propose a custom data project, or report an issue.

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⚠️ Disclaimer: this Actor is an independent tool and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by IANA, ICANN, any TLD registry, or any registrar. All trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. Only publicly available RDAP data is collected.