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Who really owns my website?
Type your domain and this reads the free public records: who registered it, when it renews, who runs the email and the hosting. Then it tells you, in plain words, what you control, what you might not, and how to take it back.
Type your website address
How this was checked: the public domain registry record, the domain’s DNS settings, the security certificate the site presents, and the site’s home page. Nothing else.
Type your address and the answer appears here.
With JavaScript off, the questions below explain the same thing in words.
What to ask your web person for
- Login to the domain registrar, or a transfer of the domain into an account in your name.
- The transfer code for the domain (also called the authorisation or EPP code).
- The hosting login and the website admin login.
- Access to the DNS settings, the ones that point your domain at the site and the email.
- A full backup of the site: all files, the database, and your images.
How to move your domain into your own name
- Open an account at a registrar in your own name, with your own email.
- Ask the current holder to turn the transfer lock off and send you the transfer code.
- Start the transfer at your registrar and enter the code.
- Approve the confirmation email. It completes in about five to seven days, and the site stays online.
- Once it lands, change every password and check the renewal date.
Who owns my domain name?
The person or business named as the registrant at the domain registrar owns the domain name. It does not matter who built the website, who pays the renewal, or whose email address receives the reminders. If a designer or agency registered the domain in their own name, legally it can be theirs, even though your business name is on the website.
Public records usually hide the registrant name to protect privacy, so this tool can show you the registrar, the renewal date and the transfer lock, but it cannot tell you whose name is on the account. The only sure check is to ask for a screenshot of the registrar account showing the registrant name, or to log in to that account yourself.
How do I get my website back from my developer?
A website has four separate pieces: the domain name, the place its files live (hosting), the files and content themselves, and the settings that point the domain at the hosting. You need to hold, or have a copy of, all four. Ask your developer in writing for each one, and give a date.
Start with the domain, because it is the piece everything else depends on. If you hold the domain, you can always rebuild the rest, even if it costs money. If someone else holds it, they can switch your site and your email off.
What if my web designer won't give me access?
Stay calm and keep everything in writing. Send one clear email listing what you need: registrar login or a transfer of the domain into your own account, the transfer code, the hosting or admin login, access to the DNS settings, and a full backup of the site. Keep a copy of every reply.
If there is no answer in a week, contact the registrar directly. Registrars can verify who the account belongs to and have their own process for disputes. If the site itself is stuck behind a hosting account you cannot open, it can usually be rebuilt from the live pages, and that is a service we offer.
How do I transfer a domain into my own name?
Create your own account at a registrar you trust. Ask the current holder to unlock the domain and send you the transfer code, sometimes called an authorisation or EPP code. Enter that code at your new registrar, approve the confirmation email, and the transfer usually completes in five to seven days. The website stays online the whole time.
Do not do this in the last few days before the domain expires, and do not let the old account lapse while the transfer is pending. A domain transfer normally adds a year to the renewal date, so you lose nothing by moving it.
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