Reading a domain search result
Available, taken, premium, invalid — and the one result that means the registry did not answer.
Updated 02 Sept 2026
A domain search asks a registry a question and shows you what came back. Four answers are worth telling apart, because two of them mean try again rather than choose something else.
Available, and taken
The first two mean what they say. A taken name is registered by somebody — a WHOIS lookup says by whom and until when, and an expiry date a few weeks out is worth noting rather than acting on.
Premium
Some names are held back by the registry and priced individually, often many times an ordinary registration. The price shown is the real one and it is set at the registry, not by us. What matters and is easy to miss: a premium name usually renews at a premium price too, every year, so the number to judge is the renewal rather than the first year — pricing shows both.
Invalid, and unknown
Invalid means the name cannot exist in that extension: a character the registry does not allow, or a name too long or too short. Unknown means the registry did not answer — a network problem between us and them, not a fact about the name. Search again in a minute.
Why is a name available here and taken elsewhere?
Almost always timing: results are cached for seconds at various points, and a name registered in the last minute can still read as available. The registration itself is what decides — an order for a name taken meanwhile fails rather than half-completing.
Can I hold a name while I decide?
No, and nobody can. There is no reservation before registration; the first completed order wins. If a name matters, register it for a year — that is cheaper than the conversation about who took it.