How to check if a domain name is available (and why "available" is not a promise)

What an availability check actually looks at

Each registry keeps a database of the names it has registered. WHOIS is the older way to query it; ICANN traces the protocol back to 1982. RDAP is its replacement. An IETF working group finalised the RDAP standards in March 2015, and ICANN says RDAP brings standardised query and response formats, support for internationalisation and secure access to data. Since 28 January 2025, ICANN no longer requires gTLD registries and registrars to run WHOIS, except for .com, .name and .post, and it calls RDAP the definitive source for gTLD registration data. That rule is about gTLDs. PKNIC, which runs .pk, is a country-code operator, and its home page still has a Domain Lookup (WHOIS) box. When a registry answers "no record", the name is unregistered at that second. That is all an availability check tells you.

Why two search tools can give different answers

Not every search box on a hosting or registrar site asks the registry directly. A tool may show a cached result, rely on a third-party data source, apply its own rules for premium or restricted names, or cover only the extensions that site sells. For .pk the gap can be wider. IANA's RDAP bootstrap file tells RDAP clients which server handles each extension. Its 30 September 2026 edition lists servers for .com, .net and .org but has no entry for .pk. Country-code names are generally registered through their own operators, so a tool built for gTLDs may not see .pk records at all. That is how a .com.pk name can show as taken on one site and free on another. PKNIC's answer is the one that counts, so check there before you decide.

Why a name can vanish between search and registration

Searching only reads the registry. Registering writes to it, and whoever files first wins. PKNIC's policy describes .pk registration as first come, first served, at PKNIC's discretion, and ICANN says domain names are generally registered the same way. A name you search at 10am can be filed by someone else at 10:05. In October 2007 ICANN's Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC) published an advisory on "domain name front running": someone who can see availability checks registering the name before the person who searched. SSAC said it had no hard data on how often, if at all, this happens. On short, common words, plain coincidence can have the same result. It works the other way too. A deleted gTLD name in its redemption period is held for 30 days and purged five calendar days after that. PKNIC can deactivate an unpaid .pk name, then holds it for two weeks, during which the old owner can still pay to reactivate it, before offering it to others. A name that is taken today may be free next month.

Premium and reserved names: free-looking names you still cannot get

Some names show as unregistered but cannot be had at the normal price, or at all. A premium name is one the registry has put in a higher price tier. The .CO registry's help centre gives an example: a Tier 6 premium name priced at US$1,000 to register and US$1,000 for every year of renewal, which it calls the High-High model. A reserved name is held back by rule. ICANN's base registry agreement requires two-character labels to be reserved at the second level. ICANN later authorised their release: letter-number mixes from 1 December 2014, and letter pairs from 13 December 2016, on condition that the registry applies measures against confusion with country codes. Under .pk, PKNIC reserves "pk", "www" and the names of its own second-level suffixes, refuses words it considers derogatory or offensive, and needs a name directly under .pk to be at least four characters long. A plain search result rarely explains any of this.

How to check a .pk or .com.pk name at PKNIC

Open pknic.net.pk and use the Domain Lookup (WHOIS) box on the home page. Type the whole name with its suffix, for example khan-traders.com.pk rather than khan-traders. When we tried it in October 2026, a registered name came back as registered, with a create date and an expiry date. An unregistered name was reported as not registered and possibly available. A name that breaks the rules, such as a three-character name directly under .pk, got the reply "You may not register this domain", with no reason given, and so did an empty search. Know the terms before you search. PKNIC charges its fee two years at a time, so two years is the shortest term, and you can pay for up to ten years. For registrants in Pakistan the fee has been Rs 2,100 per year since 1 August 2026. Once a .pk name is registered its spelling cannot be changed, and the registrant record is locked. Unlocking it means posting original documents to PKNIC in Lahore; for an individual that includes an affidavit on Rs 100 stamp paper. Get the spelling right first.

How to check .com and other gTLDs with RDAP

For .com, .net, .org and the newer gTLDs, use RDAP. The simple route is lookup.icann.org, which ICANN describes as its RDAP-based lookup. The direct route is the registry's own RDAP server. IANA's bootstrap file lists https://rdap.verisign.com/com/v1/ for .com, so a query looks like https://rdap.verisign.com/com/v1/domain/yourname.com. A registered name returns a JSON record with status values such as "client transfer prohibited" and events giving the registration and expiry dates. An unregistered name returns HTTP 404, which RFC 7480 sets as the way an RDAP server reports an empty result. Read the status field. "pending delete" means the name is waiting to be purged; "pending create" means someone's registration request is already being processed. Neither is free in the ordinary sense. RDAP will not help with a .pk name, because the bootstrap file lists no server for it; use PKNIC instead.

What "we confirm availability before registering" means at SastiDomains

Our search on /domains/ runs a fresh lookup each time you search, but the result is still a snapshot. When you place an order on /order/, we check the name again with PKNIC or the registrar before we file anything, and we register it in your own name as registrant, not ours. If the name has gone in the meantime, or turns out to be premium or reserved, nothing is filed. We tell you on WhatsApp so you can choose another name from /ideas/ or ask us for a quote, and if you have already paid for a name that is taken before we file, you get a full refund. We are a small Pakistani company. We are not a registrar, and we are not affiliated with PKNIC or any registry. You pay in rupees by bank transfer, Raast, JazzCash or Easypaisa. Orders not paid within 48 hours are cancelled, and once your payment arrives we aim to file the same working day. Prices are on /pricing/; where a price is not listed, we quote it on WhatsApp.

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