WHOIS is the public domain register: it says whether a name is taken, who holds it and when it expires. For .mk and .мкд the check is done at MARnet, at whois.marnet.mk. In March 2026 MARnet modernised the public WHOIS service.
Three moments you need it
- Before choosing a name — check availability before printing business cards.
- Before paying for a website — check whose name the domain is in. If it is the contractor's rather than your company's, that is a risk to fix before, not after.
- When the site goes down — first question: did the domain expire? WHOIS shows the date.
What you see
- Status · Registrant · Registration and expiry dates (the most useful field) · Nameservers — which tell you where the DNS, and therefore the hosting, lives
If the name is taken
- Look at the expiry date — it may not be renewed (but do not count on it)
- Try another extension: .com.mk, .мкд, .com
- A clearer new name is often cheaper than negotiating
- Do not ask the owner how much they want — that raises the price by itself
A detail worth money
If WHOIS shows your domain in someone else's name — an agency, a former colleague — that is not a formality. They legally control it. Changing the registrant is a procedure with a form and documents, and it is far easier while relations are good.
Check a .mk domain in MARnet WHOIS →
.mk registration is with MARnet. If you need help reading the answer, just ask.