Troubleshooting

How to change nameservers

Changing nameservers hands control of your entire DNS zone to a new provider. Done carefully it causes no downtime; done hastily it's the most common way websites and email go offline.

Updated · Published by HostFaddy · 3 min read

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What changing nameservers actually does

Your registrar tells the registry which nameservers are authoritative for your domain. When you change them, resolvers stop asking the old provider and start asking the new one. Every record — website, email, verification records — must already exist at the new provider, or it disappears when the switch happens.

Step 1: Record everything at the old provider

Use the All DNS Records lookup and export the results, and also log in to the old DNS panel. Public lookups can't see every subdomain, so the panel is the source of truth. Pay special attention to:

  • A/AAAA records for the root domain and www
  • MX records and any mail-related A records (for example mail.)
  • TXT records: SPF, DMARC (_dmarc), domain verifications
  • DKIM records (selector._domainkey) — easy to miss because they're on long subdomain names
  • CNAMEs for services such as Microsoft 365 autodiscover, CDNs and marketing tools
  • SRV and CAA records

Step 2: Recreate the zone at the new provider

Add every record to the new provider before you change anything at the registrar. Then ask the new nameservers directly to confirm they answer correctly:

dig @new-ns1.provider.com example.co.za A +short
dig @new-ns1.provider.com example.co.za MX +short

Step 3: Deal with DNSSEC first

If DNSSEC is enabled (your domain has a DS record at the registry), either remove the DS record and wait for it to expire before switching, or set up DNSSEC at the new provider and replace the DS record as part of a planned key rollover. Switching nameservers with a stale DS record makes the domain fail on validating resolvers — and many major resolvers validate.

Step 4: Change the nameservers at your registrar

Log in to the registrar where the domain is registered (not necessarily your host) and replace the nameserver list with the new provider's. For .co.za domains the change is submitted to the ZA Central Registry (ZACR) by your registrar. If you use “child” nameservers on your own domain (for example ns1.example.co.za), you'll also need glue records with their IP addresses.

Step 5: Verify and wait

  1. Check the NS records — the new nameservers should start appearing within hours.
  2. Check the A and MX records to confirm the new provider's answers are being served.
  3. Leave the old zone active for a few days so resolvers still using the old delegation get correct answers.
Don't cancel the old DNS or hosting account the same day. Keep it running for at least 48 hours after the change.

Frequently asked questions

How long does a nameserver change take?

Usually a few hours, occasionally up to 48 hours, because the delegation records at the registry are cached by resolvers. See our guide on propagation times.

Do I change nameservers at my host or my registrar?

At your registrar — the company the domain is registered with. Your host provides the nameserver names to use.

Will changing nameservers move my email?

Only if the MX and related records point somewhere new. If you copy the existing MX records exactly, email keeps going to the same place.

Transferring the domain at the same time? HostFaddy is an accredited .co.za registrar — see domain transfers.