Overview
Domain Availability is a domain check API: pass one domain name and it reports whether the domain is available to register, plus its creation and expiry dates when it is already taken. It queries the registry over RDAP, falling back to WHOIS, at the time of the request. Paid plans also get the TLD's registration, renewal and transfer price range across registrars, refreshed weekly, and a flag for names the registry likely prices as premium.
Live Test Check Domain Availability Source →
Formula
One function covers the whole catalog: the first argument names the source, the next are its inputs, and the field after them says which single value lands in the cell. Formulas covers the grammar that applies to all of them.
=VERVE("domainavailability", A2, "available")=VERVE.CALL("domainavailability", A2, "available")A2 holds the domain you are looking up. Drag the formula down and each row resolves on its own.
With literal values
Nothing has to come from a cell — typed values work the same way.
=VERVE("domainavailability", "myspace.com", "available")=VERVE.CALL("domainavailability", "myspace.com", "available")Inputs
Required inputs are positional, in the order below, followed by the field. Everything else is passed as a "name", value pair after that — the same shape as SUMIFS. Premium inputs are accepted on every plan but only take effect on plans that include them.
| Input | Type | Where it goes | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
domainRequired | string | argument 2 (A2) | The domain to check if it is available domain |
What lands in your sheet
The field — the argument after the inputs — is what makes the formula resolve to one cell. Its value is a dot-path from the table below, so swapping it is how you pull a different value — one formula per column.
Seeing everything at once
Leave the field out and the formula returns the whole response instead: two columns, field name on the left and value on the right, spilling from the cell you typed in.
=VERVE("domainavailability", A2)=VERVE.CALL("domainavailability", A2)The second row's table would land on top of the first's, and every cell after the first reads #REF! (#SPILL! in Excel). Keep one per sheet, or name a field, and leave the cells below and to the right empty.
Response fields
Paths are relative to data. Each one is exactly what the field argument accepts, so swapping it is how you pull a different value into a cell. On a plan without a Premium field the cell reads #PREMIUM(field) rather than a value, so a locked field never looks like a real answer.
| Use as the field | Type | Example cell value | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
domain | string | myspace.com | The domain name that was checked for availability |
available | boolean | false | Whether the domain is available for registration |
owner | object | {…} | Registration details for a taken domain; null when the domain is available |
owner.registrarPremium | string | GoDaddy.com, LLC | The registrar company managing the domain registration |
owner.createdDate | string | 1996-02-22T05:00:00Z | When the domain was first registered (ISO 8601) |
owner.expiryDate | string | 2029-02-23T05:00:00Z | When the current registration expires (ISO 8601) |
source | string | rdap | Which lookup answered: rdap, whois, rdap_proxy, whois_proxy, or cache |
pricingPremium | object | {…} | Standard price range for the domain's TLD across registrars; null when the TLD is not priced |
pricing.tldPremium | string | com | The TLD the prices apply to, such as com or co.uk |
pricing.currencyPremium | string | USD | Currency of every price, always USD |
pricing.registrationPremium | object | {…} | First-year registration price range, as low and high |
pricing.registration.lowPremium | number | 11.08 | Lowest first-year registration price seen |
pricing.registration.highPremium | number | 11.25 | Highest first-year registration price seen |
pricing.renewalPremium | object | {…} | Yearly renewal price range, as low and high |
pricing.renewal.lowPremium | number | 11.08 | Lowest yearly renewal price seen |
pricing.renewal.highPremium | number | 11.25 | Highest yearly renewal price seen |
pricing.transferPremium | object | {…} | Transfer price range, as low and high; null when no registrar lists one |
pricing.transfer.lowPremium | number | 11.08 | Lowest transfer price seen |
pricing.transfer.highPremium | number | 11.25 | Highest transfer price seen |
pricing.sourcesPremium | number | 2 | How many registrars the range is drawn from |
pricing.premiumLikelyPremium | object | null | Whether the registry likely charges more than the standard price for this name; an estimate from the name's length and shape, null when the domain is taken |
pricing.premiumReasonPremium | object | null | Why the name is likely premium; null when it is not |
pricing.updatedAtPremium | string | 2026-10-18T10:00:00.000Z | When the prices were last collected (ISO 8601); refreshed weekly |
lifecyclePremium | string | registered | Registration stage: available, registered, expiring (past its expiry date or in the redemption period, so it may be renewed or released) or deleting (pending delete, released within days). Null when the registry gave no status |
eppStatusPremium | array | ["client delete prohibited","client renew prohibited","client transfer prohibited"] | Registry status codes for a taken domain, such as client transfer prohibited or redemption period (RFC 8056 wording). Null when the domain is available |
nameserversPremium | array | ["ns-cloud-a1.googledomains.com","ns-cloud-a2.googledomains.com","ns-cloud-a3.googledomains.com"] | Nameservers the registry lists for a taken domain, in lowercase. Null when the domain is available |
isParkedPremium | boolean | false | True when the nameservers point at a parking service or domain marketplace (Sedo, Bodis, ParkingCrew, Above, Dan, Afternic). Null when the domain is available |
isForSalePremium | boolean | false | True when the nameservers point at a domain marketplace's for-sale page (Dan, Afternic). False does not rule out a sale listed elsewhere. Null when the domain is available |
parkingServicePremium | object | null | The parking service or marketplace the nameservers belong to, or null |
Filling a whole column
Both platforms make one batched call for a column rather than one request per cell, and both cost the same — 10 credits per row looked up. How you write it differs, because the two runtimes batch at different points.
=VERVE("domainavailability", A2:A100, "available")In Google Sheets, give the arguments ranges and the answers spill down from the cell you typed in. Custom functions there run synchronously and in isolation, so dragged cells cannot be coalesced — the range form is how a column becomes one call. The field is required here: a per-row two-column table has nowhere to spill. Use a full column per input (A2:A100, not A2) — a single-cell reference is read as row 1 only and the rest of the column comes back blank.
In Excel, type the formula once and fill down — no range form and none needed, because its runtime is asynchronous and the add-in coalesces the calls a fill produces into a single batched request. Do not hand VERVE.CALL a range: Excel flattens it into positional arguments, so A2:A100 arrives as a hundred separate arguments and the cell reads #ERR rather than filling.
Either way, column A holds your domain values and the answers land beside them, one row each, blank rows skipped.
When a cell doesn't fill
A failed lookup returns readable text starting with #ERR rather than a spreadsheet error, because Excel cannot show a custom message on a real error — you would get a bare #VALUE! with no reason. The trade-off is that IFERROR() will not catch it; test with LEFT(cell, 4) = "#ERR" instead. Error handling covers the rest.
| Cell reads | What happened |
|---|---|
#ERR Not connected | No API key saved. Open the side panel and connect your account. |
#ERR Replace <name> with a cell or value | A preview formula was copied as-is. Swap the placeholder for a cell reference. |
#ERR No "x" in domainavailability | An option name this source does not take. The message lists the ones it does. |
#ERR No data point "…" | The field path is not in the response. Check it against the table above. |
#PREMIUM(field) | The field exists but your plan does not include it. |
#ERR Out of credits | The cycle's credits are spent. Usage resets on your billing date. |
Before the formula works
The add-in reads the API key you saved once in the side panel — the key never goes in the formula, so a shared sheet does not leak it and a collaborator without access simply sees the last calculated values.
- Install the add-in for Google Sheets or Excel.
- Open the side panel and sign in, or paste a key from your dashboard.
- Type the formula above into any cell.
Use cases
- Business Name Generators
- When entrepreneurs test company names, business formation apps verify if matching dot-com addresses are unregistered before finalizing entity paperwork.
- Domain Reseller Storefronts
- Show buyers instant availability flags and registration expiry dates directly inside custom search bars for registrar and web hosting portals.
- Trademark Defense Audits
- Legal teams scan potential brand collisions across key top-level domains, inspecting registration dates to establish prior use or bad-faith squatting.
- Agency Rebranding Workflows
- Filter out claimed domains early during client naming sprints so design studios pitch only project handles that can actually be acquired.
Other ways to use Check Domain Availability
Set up Check Domain Availability on VerveSheets, or reach the same source a different way. Your VerveSheets account and credits work on all of them — one key, one balance.
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