I’m guessing if you’re reading this blog post, you’ve done a domain search for your perfect .ae domain, but it’s already registered and now you’re trying to figure out who owns it.
This is a pretty common situation for people to find themselves in, especially since .ae domains are experiencing huge growth, with total United Arab Emirates domain registrations now exceeding 300,000, as of Q1 2023. More domains being registered means less chance your perfect domain will be available. This is just how the domain industry works.
Fortunately, it’s very easy to find out who owns a .ae domain. All you’ll need to do is a .ae whois lookup and all publicly available information about the owner will be listed, including name and contact details.
There are still a few things you should know before you perform your .ae whois lookup though so let’s dive into the meat of the article.
Do Another .ae Domain Search to Make Sure It’s Really Registered
It’s not uncommon for domain searches to give back false results so it’s still possible the .ae domain you’re looking to register is still available. For that reason, please perform another .ae domain search to double-check that the domain is definitely taken.
Hooray! Your Domain Is Available. Secure It ASAP.
If your prayers have been answered and the domain is available, please don’t hesitate, and register it ASAP. You never know if someone else has the exact same idea for a domain as you do.
The process to buy a .ae domain is very simple. All you’ll need to do is find an .ae accredited registrar, like us here at OnlyDomains, add the domain to your shopping cart, check-out, sign-up for an account and complete the process with your payment details. We do have an in-depth guide on how to buy a .ae domain if you’d like additional information.
Oh No! Your Domain Is Not Available. What Now?
If you’ve checked and re-checked the domain availability but your .ae TLD (Top-Level Domain) is still showing as taken, then unfortunately you’ve got no choice but to find out the current owner of the domain name.
Find Out Who Owns a .ae Domain
As mentioned earlier, to find out who owns a .ae domain, you’ll need to do a .ae whois lookup.
Just in case you’re wondering, “whois” is the term used within the domain name industry when you want to look up the owner of a domain. It’s very similar to doing a company name or trademark lookup.
For .ae domains, you can do a whois lookup on our page, or you can go directly to the governing body of .ae domains and perform your whois search there.
Unlike some domains, .ae is quite generous with the ownership information in whois lookups. You should have no issues finding the name and contact details of the current owner of the domain. You’ll want to look for the “registrant” information as the registrant is a term used to describe a domain owner.
You should now know who the owner of your .ae domain is. But what can you do with this information?
Lodge a .ae Domain Dispute
If you’re confident you have a legitimate entitlement to the .ae domain name, meaning you possess a trademark or a company that perfectly matches the domain, and the present owner has registered the domain in bad faith, such as a domain squatter, you have the option to initiate a domain dispute.
Lodging a .ae domain dispute refers to the procedure in which entities possessing rightful legal claims to a domain can initiate legal actions against the current domain owner, aiming to compel the owner to surrender ownership.
You can find more information about .ae domain disputes on the policies page of aeDA’s website. You’re looking for the “Rules for the UAE Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy” area, which will link to a downloadable PDF containing everything you’ll need to know about how to lodge a .ae domain dispute.
In general, domain disputes can get quite messy, so your best chance at navigating this option would be to employ the services of a domain-focused brand protection company. They’ll have lots of experience gaining possession of bad faith domain name registrations for their clients.
Negotiate With the Current .ae Domain Owner
If you managed to identify the domain owner via your .ae whois lookup, you could consider reaching out to them via their listed contact details and inquiring whether they would be interested in selling the domain to you.
Buying the domain from the current owner probably won’t be as budget-friendly as registering an available, cheap .ae domain, but it might not be as expensive as you’d imagine either. Usually, only generic term domains have a high price when sold between consenting parties.
Acquiring the domain directly from the current owner typically entails some level of negotiation to establish an agreeable purchase price. Following the negotiation, the transaction is facilitated via an escrow service to ensure the protection of both parties involved.
Use a .ae Domain Broker Service
If you’re nervous about reaching out to the domain owner directly or if you’d rather maintain anonymity (secret identities are important!) during this procedure, use a domain broker service. A domain broker will act on your behalf in negotiating and overseeing the acquisition of the registered domain.
A domain broker service is also a good choice when you represent a large company as negotiating with said company may lead to an increase in asking price.
Try to Find the .ae Domain on the Aftermarket
If the current owner is actually open to selling the domain, then it’s likely already listed on a domain aftermarket service.
Spare a few minutes to do a search for the .ae domain on domain marketplace websites Sedo and Afternic. Maybe you’ll find the domain name, along with the asking price.
Let the .ae Domain Expire
This one will be a gamble. But if you’re in no hurry to use the domain, then you could simply let it expire and then register it once it’s available again. Unfortunately, this process won’t be as straightforward as it is for something like a .com domain since the whois information for .ae domains doesn’t specify the expiry date of the domain.
The only way you’ll know that a .ae domain has expired is if the “Status” field found within the whois information shows one of the following statuses:
- serverHold (Expired)
- Pending Delete
- Expired Pending Purge
The first status is if the domain has officially expired but the current owner still has the chance to renew the domain. The second and third statuses are if the domain has expired, the current owner has lost the domain and its release back to the public is imminent.
You can read more about the .ae domain expiration process via the “Domain Name Renewal Expiry and Deletion” area, found on the .ae governing bodies policies page.
Go Get the .ae Domain You Really Want
If you’ve gotten to this point, you should now know who owns the .ae domain you want to register and what you can do to secure it for yourself. It’s now up to you to act on this information and get the .ae domain you really want. Good luck!
