How the search works, what its results mean
For every name you search, we check whether it can be registered in each of the domain extensions you've selected. Each extension is run by its own registry, so the way a name is checked depends on the registry and its type, the type of the extension, the current load on the systems involved and other factors.
Most names are checked directly with the registry: the result you see is the registry's own answer on whether the name is available and at what price, premium prices included. When a direct check isn't possible, the name is checked over DNS instead, which gives a shorter answer (see What is a check over DNS?). The registry check handles the large majority of searches.
Premium domains are names that a registry prices individually, usually because they are short, common words or otherwise in demand. Only the registry decides which names are premium and sets their base price, so premium prices aren't known in advance: that a name is premium, and its price, are found out only as a result of the check.
We do our best to detect premium names and show them with the Premium mark and their price, but premium detection can't be guaranteed.
Important: for some extensions, and for names checked over DNS, a premium name can't be detected during the search at all. Such a name is shown at the extension's standard price, and the registry reveals that it's premium, and its actual price, only when the domain is being registered.
DNS is the system that points domain names to the servers behind them. A registered domain normally has its name servers listed in its extension's DNS zone. So when a name can't be checked with the registry directly, we look it up in DNS: if it's listed there, it's registered; if it isn't, it's most likely available.
DNS only shows whether a name is in use. It knows nothing about the registry's prices or reserved names, which is why a check over DNS can't tell whether a name is premium or what its premium price is. For the same reason, a name that looks available may occasionally turn out to be registered without name servers, or reserved by the registry; this is confirmed at registration.
A name shown as unavailable, for example as Not supported, isn't necessarily taken: a registered domain is shown as taken, or with the option to transfer it. Unavailable means one of two things:
In the second case, search for the name again a little later.
Transfer means the domain is already registered, and it can be transferred to Regery: moved from its current registrar to us. If the domain is yours, transferring it lets you manage it here together with your other domains, its DNS and its renewals.
For a transfer you'll need the domain's authorization (EPP) code from its current registrar, and the domain must be unlocked there. Transfer rules depend on the extension: for many extensions a domain can't be transferred within 60 days of its registration or previous transfer, and a transfer usually extends the registration by one year. The domain keeps working while it's being transferred.
A domain can only be transferred by its owner.
Try the same name in other extensions: add them from Categories, or open Suggestions to find variations of the name that are still free.
If you want exactly this domain, look it up in WHOIS to see when its registration expires. If the owner doesn't renew it, the domain is eventually released and can be registered again; an auto-purchase can watch it and register it for you as soon as it's released.
Registries often run promotions on the first year of registration, and we apply them to all customers equally. A promotional price covers the first year only: renewals are charged at the regular price, which the search shows under the price as Renews at.
Registries may also change their regular prices over time; a renewal is charged at the price in effect when it's made.
Above the results, the search compares our prices for the extensions you've selected with the prices other popular registrars publish for the same extensions, and shows how much more each of them charges. Details opens the full comparison for an extension.
Other registrars' prices are collected regularly and may not include their special offers or promotions, so their current prices may differ.
