How to Check domain name availability

For registrars integrating with Nominet’s Dragon registry platform there are three primary mechanisms that contribute to domain name availability checks.

1. EPP domain:check command. 
   • This is the primary method and will provide a live answer against the current registry database, it is recommended that any registrar implementing a technical integration utilises this as part of the solution.
   • The command is used to check
     • Domain Availability 
     • Drop time a domain will become available for re-registration
     • Price (for TLDs that support non-standard pricing).
   • We recommend that registrars cache the answers to EPP domain:check requests when the response indicates it is unavailable.
     • domain:checks which return an unavailable response that may or will drop, will provide the date and time they may become available again as part of the domain:check response and there is no further information to be gained by successive checks on the same day.
2. Drop Lists. 
   • These are an optional extra and supported by a subset of registries on the Dragon platform, which provides a daily list of domains and the precise time they will become available for re-registration. 
   • These lists are publicly available and downloadable by anyone. 
   • They can be used alone or in conjunction with EPP domain:check commands to enable any back-ordering processes in a retail environment. 
   • For most use cases if you are utilising the Unavailable names reports below, you will not need to also use the drop lists.
   • Further details can be found on the Drop lists page.
3. Unavailable names report. 
   • These are an optional extra and supported by a subset of registries on the platform providing a daily cache file for utilisation by a registrar in the following scenarios: 
     • Domain spinners that need to rule out unavailable names as they generate available options within the registry.  These can also be backorder aware as it is a superset of the droplists.
     • Registry maintenance downtime of EPP will not prevent the ability to take orders of names that are likely to be available. 
   • Further details can be found on Unavailable names report page.

What not to do…

Registration Data Directory Services (RDDS) such as the Registration Data Access Protocol (RDAP) are not intended to be utilised as a domain availability service and the usage of the current service is strictly limited in number of queries from any particular user.