← Help  /  Prove you own the domain

Validate your domain with a DNS record

With DNS validation you add one small record to your domain's DNS. It proves you control the domain without needing any mailbox or website. It is a good choice when you cannot receive email at the domain, or when the site is not live yet.

How it works

1. Place your order and choose DNS as the validation method.
2. Once the order has been placed with the authority, the exact record is emailed to you and shown in your account on the order page. It cannot be known before then, because it is made for your order.
3. Add that record where your DNS is managed. This is wherever your domain's name servers point: your registrar, your hosting control panel, or a service such as Cloudflare.
4. Wait for it to appear. This is often a few minutes, and can take longer.
5. The authority checks automatically and issues the certificate when it finds the record.

Adding the record

The record is usually a CNAME (sometimes a TXT). Copy the name and the value exactly as shown. Two things catch people out:

• Many DNS panels add your domain to the end of the name for you. If the name you were given already ends in your domain, enter only the part before it. Otherwise you create name.example.com.example.com.
• Leave off any trailing dot unless your panel needs it, and do not add quotation marks around a CNAME value.

Check it has appeared

From a command line, replace the name with the one you added:

dig +short CNAME name.example.com
nslookup -type=CNAME name.example.com

If you see the value we gave you, the authority will see it too. If you see nothing after an hour, the record is probably entered in the wrong place or with the domain doubled. You can leave the record in place afterwards.

More help: domain validation is not completing.

More in this section

• Validate your domain by email
• Validate your domain with a file on your website

Browse certificates →   Free SSL tools →