NETWORK TOOLS · QUERIED BY OUR SERVER

Reverse DNS Lookup (PTR)

Find the host name an IP address maps back to — commonly needed for mail server setup.

This lookup is made by our server contacting the host, not by your browser.

About this tool

Enter a public IP address to see its PTR record. Reverse DNS matters most for mail: many receiving servers check whether a sending IP has a PTR record and whether that name resolves forward to the same address. Matching both makes a message far less likely to be treated as spam. Note that PTR records are configured by whoever holds the address — usually your hosting provider or carrier — not by the domain owner. A domain can point at any address, but an address will not necessarily point back. For that reason a reverse lookup alone is not proof of identity.

How it works

  1. Enter a public IPv4 or IPv6 address.
  2. Review the PTR host name returned.
  3. Optionally run a forward lookup to confirm the name resolves back to the same address.

Limits and notes

Accepts public IP addresses only; private ranges, loopback, and link-local addresses are refused. PTR records are set by the address holder, may not exist, and are not guaranteed to match the forward record.

How your input is handled

The domain or URL you enter is sent to our server, where an isolated process contacts the host on your behalf. Nothing you submit is stored or written to an analytics event, no cookies or authorization headers are forwarded, and the target's JavaScript is never executed. The server may only reach publicly routable internet addresses; private ranges, loopback, and cloud metadata addresses are refused.

Frequently asked questions

Why is there no PTR record?
Not every address has one. The address holder must configure it in the reverse zone. Home broadband and cloud instances often have none by default, or carry a generic carrier name. Having no PTR is not an error in itself, but a mail server usually needs one.
Does it matter if forward and reverse disagree?
Not for a normal website; it does for mail. Receiving servers often check forward-confirmed reverse DNS — resolve the IP to a name, resolve that name back to an address, and compare. A mismatch raises the chance of being marked as spam.