Use this PHP class script the whois information for domain names. You can check if a domain is free or you can request the detailed whois information for already registered domain names. The whois information is used by domain name hosting providers or by a user who is looking for a free (or registered) domain name. The PHP Whois script comes with different example files to show you how to use the PHP class for single and multiple domain name requests.

The PHP Whois class works with TLD’s (top-level domain names) where a whois server is available. You can choose which domain name extensions (tld) the script should support. A complete whois server list is attached to this page.

Visit here the Script Demo – PHP Script Download

How does it work?

Try the basic whois domain example script first.

1. Create on your web server the following directory structure: Your_Public_Folder/classes/whois/ (Your_Public_Folder is the directory where your site’s homepage is located).
2. Upload the class file named “whois_class.php” into this newly created directory.
3. Upload the PHP Whois example file “whois_example.php” to your server as well and access the file in your browser.
4. Enter into the form field the first part from a domain name and choose an extension from the select menu.
5. Optional: Use the checkbox “Show all info?” to get also the whois information for a valid domain name.
6. Click the submit button.

More example files:

multi_whois_list.php and multi_whois_detail.php
These two files check a) multiple domain names in a single request and b) the detail page show the whois detail (if available)

whois_redirect_example.php
This file is an example how to redirect the user to the next page, for example the step2 in a domain name order process.

Adding more tlds

Open the file “server_list.php” and notice that every Whois server entry has three array elements: The whois server name, the “is free” string and an optional parameter (you need to check the specific Whois server website to check if they are required).

$servers['xx']['address'] = "whois.xx";
$servers['xx']['free'] = "FREE";
$servers['x']['param'] = "";

Replace xx with your new tld, address is the address you need for your query. The free string is something you can find on the Internet or while using the script name whois_servertest.php

You can add to this list as many TLD’s you need, check the Whois server list below for the details.

Complete Whois server list

Disclaimer: The data from this list is based on the information provided by the root zone database on IANA.org. There is no guaranty that all information on this list is correct and/or complete. We advice to check also the registry information before you use the information in your own whois script. Please report missing or wrong data by using our contact form.

Whois server test

There is a small script that you can use to check the response for a query with each whois server. Open the file “whois_servertest.php” and change the value for the whois server and domain name. Run the PHP script in your browser or from the command line.

function get_whois_data($test_server, $test_domain) {
	$msg = "";
	$connection = fsockopen($test_server, 43, $errno, $errstr, 10);
	if (!$connection) {
		$msg = "Can't connect to the server!";
	} else {
		sleep(2);
		fputs($connection, $test_domain."\r\n");
		while (!feof($connection)) {
			$msg[] = fgets($connection, 4096);
		}
		fclose($connection);
	}
	return $msg;
}
print_r(get_whois_data("whois.crsnic.net", "finalwebsites.com"));

Change log for the PHP Whois script

Version 1.22

Added additional whois server settings (.eu, .us) and the regex pattern is more improved.

Version 1.21

There was small problem if the user requests data about .de domein (denic), the exec function will not work for this kind of TLD. I put in the method get_whois_data() an if clause to use for this kind of TLD always a socket connection.

Version 1.20

I changed in this class the simple domain check and the method to obtain whois data, because there are several problems with timeouts by calling the whois servers. In this version there are two ways to get the whois data: the old method with fsockopen and (new) via the Linux command line with the command “whois -h”. The last one is much faster and uses features like re-directing. The class is modified to handle .nl queries while using the “is” parameter.

Version 1.13

I added a boolean to the check_only() method to use this information for domain register pages. You can use this “bool” to redirect to an other page (to sell the free name f.e.).

Version 1.12

I changed the get_whois_data() and the check_only() method, because the information was not right if there was no server connection. This class works now for PHP with the setting register_globals = off.

Version 1.11

I added the var $whois_param, use this var via the serverlist to use extra (required) parameters for some whois servers.

Version 1.10

In this version it’s possible to check domain names for all TLDs which are configured inside the server list. New Files: “multi_whois_list.php”, this file is an example for using the new functions and is also an extended version of the main class. “multi_whois_detail.php”, you need this file to get detailed information about domain names checked via the multi whois list file.