NS record
What is NS record?
An NS record identifies which servers are authoritative for a domain, holding its actual DNS records and answering queries about it, as distinct from servers that merely cache or forward answers. AdminKit's DNS Lookup tool looks up a domain's NS records to confirm they match at the registrar and in the zone.
By AdminKit team, Netbase JSC · Updated
An NS (Nameserver) record identifies which servers are authoritative for a domain — the servers that hold the actual DNS records and answer queries about that domain, as opposed to servers that merely cache or forward answers. NS records exist both at the domain’s registrar (delegating the domain to its DNS provider) and within the DNS zone itself, and the two sets should match; a mismatch can cause intermittent resolution failures. ICANN’s own beginner’s guide to domain names explains this same registrar/registry split: registrars handle registration while registry operators “provide name servers to publish the zone file data” for their top-level domain. The same kind of NS record also delegates a subdomain from inside its parent zone, entirely separate from the registrar — see interpreting a subdomain delegation NS/glue mismatch for what happens when that inner delegation doesn’t match. Changing DNS providers means updating NS records at the registrar, and because of DNS caching and TTLs, that change can take time to propagate fully across resolvers worldwide rather than applying instantly. NS records are defined in RFC 1035 (an Internet Standard per its IETF Datatracker entry), building on the delegation concepts described in RFC 1034.
AdminKit groups nS record under its DNS cluster — browse the AdminKit glossary index for other related terms.
Frequently asked questions
Why do NS records exist in two places?
NS records exist both at the domain's registrar (delegating the domain to a DNS provider) and inside the DNS zone itself, and the two sets are supposed to match; a mismatch between them can cause intermittent resolution failures.
What happens if I change DNS providers?
You update the NS records at the registrar to point to the new provider's nameservers; because of DNS caching and TTLs, that change can take time to propagate fully across resolvers worldwide rather than applying instantly.
Can an NS record delegate something other than a whole domain?
Yes -- the same kind of NS record can delegate a subdomain from inside its parent zone, a separate, inner delegation from the registrar-level one.
How can I check whether a domain's NS records match at the registrar and in the zone?
AdminKit's DNS Lookup tool looks up a domain's NS records so you can confirm the registrar and zone copies agree.