Enter the domain name you wish to check in the WHOIS search box and click on 'Look up'. Ensure you put in the whole of the domain name e.g. 'nominet.org.uk'.

The WHOIS searches the .uk register database for the domain name and then returns a message with information about the domain name you searched for.

Responses from WHOIS

The three main responses you may receive from WHOIS are:

• Domain name is already registered
• Domain name is not found (which normally means it has not been registered and is therefore available if you wish to do so)
• An error message