How to Find Out Who Your Domain Registrar, DNS Provider and Web Host Are

Before renewing a domain, you need to know which company handles each service. You also need that information to change its DNS settings or troubleshoot a website. The registrar manages the domain’s registration. The DNS provider publishes records that tell internet services where to send traffic for the domain. The web host runs the website or platform visitors reach.

One company can provide all three services, but different companies often provide registration, DNS, and hosting. Use registration data to identify the registrar, nameserver records to find the authoritative DNS service, and website DNS records to investigate the host. Public records can point to a proxy or content delivery network, which can hide the web server visitors ultimately reach.

Find the registrar in registration data

Search for the domain in ICANN Lookup and check the Registrar field. The registrar of record is the company responsible for the domain’s registration. ICANN’s registration-data lookup uses the Registration Data Access Protocol, or RDAP, for generic top-level domains such as .com and .org. ICANN made RDAP the definitive source for gTLD registration data on January 28, 2025, replacing WHOIS for those domains.

The result may not name the company you recognize or pay. A reseller can sell registration services on behalf of a registrar, so check domain invoices, renewal notices, and account dashboards as well. ICANN explains that the registrar remains accountable for registrar services provided through a reseller, and that the registrar should be able to help a registrant contact the reseller.

Public registration results can omit or redact some fields. ICANN Lookup also does not establish that the registrar provides the domain’s DNS or website hosting. If the domain uses a country-code ending, such as .ca or .uk, and the lookup does not give a useful answer, check the relevant registry or the company that sold you the domain.

Identify the DNS provider from nameservers

A domain’s authoritative nameservers publish the DNS records that other DNS services use to answer questions about that domain. Those servers are different from the recursive resolver your computer or network uses to look up names, such as a home internet provider’s resolver. To find the domain’s DNS service, check its nameserver delegation rather than the resolver configured on your device.

If you have dig, a command-line DNS lookup tool, run:

dig +trace example.com NS

The trace follows the delegation path from the DNS root. For a shorter query, run:

dig NS example.com +short

Replace example.com with your domain. The returned nameserver hostnames show which servers publish the domain’s DNS records. Names that match a known provider are a useful clue; compare them with the nameservers shown in the domain account or DNS dashboard before deciding which account manages the records.

Nameserver names do not always identify the provider. An organization can use custom nameservers that carry its own domain name, and the public delegation does not reveal who owns the account or contract. Cloudflare’s nameserver documentation describes both branded and custom nameservers. If the nameserver names are not recognizable, check the domain’s account records or ask the person who manages its DNS.

Investigate the web host through website records

Check DNS for the hostname visitors use, such as the bare domain and www. An A record points to an IPv4 address, an AAAA record points to an IPv6 address, and a CNAME record points one hostname to another. For example:

dig A example.com +short
dig AAAA example.com +short
dig A www.example.com +short
dig CNAME www.example.com +short

A returned address or CNAME can give you a lead about the hosting platform. If a query returns an IP address, look it up in an IP registration service such as ARIN’s Whois/RDAP search. The result names an organization associated with the network address. That organization could be a cloud provider or intermediary, rather than the company hosting your website.

A proxy or content delivery network can make the distinction especially hard to see. A reverse proxy sits between visitors and a web server, receiving requests and forwarding them. When Cloudflare proxies a website, for example, public DNS can return Cloudflare’s address instead of the origin server’s address. In that case, the DNS result identifies the intermediary, not necessarily the host running the site. Other records can still reveal information about the origin, so one DNS response does not settle the question.

To find the hosting account, check the website platform’s dashboard or hosting invoices. Deployment settings and records kept by the person who maintains the site are two other places to look. DNS and IP results can narrow the search, but they do not always identify the hosting provider or account the customer uses.

Know what each public clue establishes

A domain can use different providers for registration, DNS, and hosting. It can also direct its website, email, and subdomains to separate services. Check the hostname and service you are troubleshooting rather than assuming one provider handles everything.

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