Available, but not for sale

Names the registry holds back

Every registry withholds a pool of names: terms belonging to public institutions, geographic names, words likely to mislead, and technical labels the zone itself needs.

Such a name is registered by nobody, so formally it does not exist — which is precisely why a DNS-based check reports it as free. A registrar will nevertheless refuse the order.

Premium names

Many registries separate out a pool of attractive names and sell them at a higher price — sometimes several times, sometimes a hundred times the standard fee. The domain is available, just not at the price you expected.

That price is visible only at a registrar. Neither DNS nor RDAP will tell you about it.

A result from a moment ago

The domain may have been registered a minute earlier. Results are also cached for hours at a time so that registries are not flooded with repeated questions.

For extensions without RDAP the method adds its own uncertainty: a registered but unused name looks identical to a free one in DNS.

What to do about it

Treat the result as a strong hint rather than a guarantee, and for a name that genuinely matters, order it immediately after checking. The only definitive answer exists at the moment the request reaches the registry.

How to find out before you order

Registries publish their reserved lists and most publish their premium pricing, though both are usually buried in policy documents rather than on the front page. A registrar will tell you faster: order the name and the quote comes back with the real price, or with a refusal explaining that the name is withheld.

That is worth doing before you settle on a brand, not after. Discovering that your chosen name carries a four-figure premium is a manageable problem in week one and an expensive one after the logo has been printed.