Comments on: How can I find the registration info for a lapsed domain name?

Question: How can I find the registration info for a lapsed domain name?

Hat Maui — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 11:43:23 -0800

How can I get registration information for a domain name that is expired?

I have a friend who is in a legal dispute with someone. If there is some way for him to conclusively prove that a particular domain name was taken out by this person, it would be helpful to him in the dispute. However, the domain is lapsed and there is no whois information. Is this information on file somewhere? The site was registered in late 2005 or early 2006 and expired a year subsequent to that.

By: RichardP

RichardP — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 11:49:31 -0800

Try Domain History from Domain Tools / Name Intellingence.

By: RichardP

RichardP — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 11:50:23 -0800

Oh, I should mention, Domain History is not free.

By: Hat Maui

Hat Maui — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 12:11:25 -0800

thanks, richardp. signed up for free trial and got some info, but it was privately registered through godaddy and a company called domainsbyproxy. is there a way to get the actual registrant info without a court order?

By: thebellafonte

thebellafonte — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 13:59:17 -0800

Lapsed domain names seem strangely akin to mortgaged Monopoly properties belonging to other players.

By: dhartung

dhartung — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 00:38:48 -0800

For a legal dispute, I would imagine that a registrar would respond to a subpoena. A lawyer letter may not give you the same, but it might exceed what you can get from a third party website.

By: nakedcodemonkey

nakedcodemonkey — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 09:58:28 -0800

DomainsByProxy is just GoDaddy's name for their "private registration" service.