.shop WHOIS Lookup
.shop is a generic extension opened for e-commerce and operated by GMO Registry. This page explains which channel serves the registration data.
- 1.494 extensions
- IANA 1601 ICANN accredited
- 2 protocols — RDAP and WHOIS
Your IP address 216.73.216.31
.shop WHOIS Lookup: Records in a Store Extension
.shop is a generic extension that entered the root zone on 5 May 2016, operated by GMO Registry. A WHOIS server still appears in its IANA record, yet in our measurement on 12 August 2026 that server returned no registration data. The whole reply was a single announcement: that the WHOIS service was retired as of 1 May 2026, that registration data queries are now served over RDAP, and what the RDAP address is.
This differs from extensions whose port 43 closed quietly: the server is up, accepts the connection and tells you what happened in its own words. That is the good news for a visitor — there is a real difference between an empty reply and a reply that states its reason. The bad news concerns older tools: a client connecting to port 43 may take the announcement for a record and draw a wrong conclusion about the name's state.
The basis for the closure is that RDAP has been the definitive source of registration data for generic extensions since 28 January 2025, with the obligation to serve data over WHOIS ending on the same date. The registry's notice refers to that transition explicitly. For an extension that completed the same move earlier see the .info WHOIS lookup, and for a generic extension keeping port 43 open, the .cloud WHOIS lookup page.
About the .shop extension
- Extension
- .shop
- WHOIS server
- This extension has no WHOIS service on port 43; registration data is published over RDAP.
- RDAP endpoint
- https://rdap.gmoregistry.net/rdap
- Registry
- GMO Registry, Inc.
- Delegated
- 5 May 2016
- Port 43 status
- Retired on 1 May 2026; the server returns only the notice
- Source of record data
- The RDAP endpoint named in the registry's own notice
- Measured result
- 12 August 2026: zero registration fields, only the closure text
WHOIS FAQ
Why does a .shop WHOIS lookup return no record?
Because the registry retired the WHOIS service on port 43 as of 1 May 2026. The server still accepts connections but sends an announcement of that fact instead of a record; in the 12 August 2026 measurement not a single registration field was present. The text also states that registration data queries are now served over RDAP and gives the address to go to.
Which channel serves .shop registration data now?
The RDAP endpoint named in the registry's own notice. The closure text does not merely say the service has ended — it hands you the new address, a detail that makes the transition readable for a visitor. The registration data has not disappeared; the protocol carrying it has changed, and the same fields are served in structured form.
What is the basis for closing the .shop WHOIS service?
Since 28 January 2025 RDAP has been the definitive source of registration data for generic extensions, and the obligation on registries to serve data over the WHOIS protocol ended on that date. The registry refers to that transition explicitly in its own notice. The closure is therefore not one operator's decision but part of an arrangement covering generic extensions as a whole.
What do older WHOIS tools do with .shop queries?
A client connecting to port 43 does get a reply — but what it gets is the announcement, not a record. Tools trying to parse the text produce empty fields, and some read that as the name being unregistered. The two are not the same: the announcement says nothing about the domain, only that the service has closed. Reading .shop results through an older tool is therefore misleading.
Is the .shop zone signed with DNSSEC?
It is. A DS record for .shop is present in the root zone, which we verified in the 12 August 2026 measurement. That fact is independent of the state of the WHOIS service, and a signed zone does not make the addresses under it signed. The DNSSEC status of an individual address can be seen through a DNS query, which the DNS tab on the result screen performs directly.
With WHOIS closed, what can be learned about a .shop address?
Everything on the technical side, because DNS is public and needs no request to the registry. The DNS tab on the result screen resolves and shows the name server records, the A and AAAA addresses and the MX and TXT records. That tells you where an address is hosted and who carries its mail; registration dates and the registrar belong to the RDAP endpoint.