Delegating a domain to the NorthDNS nameservers

Delegating a domain tells the registry (Verisign for .com, Registro.it for .it…) which nameservers are authoritative. From then on DNS answers for the domain come from NorthDNS.

Set exactly two nameservers: ns1.northdns.it and ns2.northdns.it. Remove all others: leaving the old provider’s nameservers produces different answers depending on the resolver.

In your registrar panel look for Nameservers, DNS or Custom DNS servers. Some registrars require you to switch off their own DNS or web forwarding first.

• Import or recreate every record from the old provider in NorthDNS.
• If DNSSEC is active with the old provider, remove the DS record at the registrar first, otherwise validating resolvers will treat the domain as broken.
• Lower the TTL of important records a few hours earlier, if the old provider allows it.

The change is usually visible within a few hours but can take up to 48. NorthDNS checks the delegation automatically and the domain becomes Verified. To check it yourself:

dig NS example.com +short
# should return ns1.northdns.it. and ns2.northdns.it.

On our Discord server, /dnscheck example.com shows delegation, MX, SPF and DMARC.

• The registrar rejects the nameservers: some registries check that the nameservers answer for the domain. Add the domain to NorthDNS first, then retry.
• Verification stays pending: make sure none of the old provider’s nameservers are left.
• Website or email stops working: some records are missing; compare them with the old provider.