Domain availability

Available, taken or “likely free”

• Available — the registry says the name isn’t registered.
• Taken — you’ll see the registrar, dates and how it’s set up. If it expires soon, the owner may still renew it.
• Likely free — some endings (.gr, .eu, .cy) have no public registry service to ask. If the name has no DNS records it’s probably free, but a registered domain without nameservers looks the same, so confirm with a registrar.
• Being deleted — redemption period or pending delete: the owner let it expire. It may become available in the coming weeks.

Premium and reserved names

Registries don’t say through RDAP whether a name is sold at a premium price or reserved. The final price is shown at the registrar’s checkout.

Tips for a good domain

• Short, easy to spell when heard, and without hyphens.
• Check that the name isn’t someone else’s trademark.
• Register the main endings you care about (for example .com and .gr) so nobody else can use them for look-alike phishing.
• Turn on auto-renew and the registrar lock as soon as you buy it.