Change Nameservers in the Reseller Control Panel

Nameservers tell the internet which DNS provider is authoritative for your domain. Changing them moves DNS hosting from one provider to another. This article walks you through updating nameservers for one or many domains in the OpenSRS Reseller Control Panel.

What changing nameservers does

When you change a domain's nameservers, you are updating the delegation at the registry. Once the change propagates, queries for your domain will be answered by the new nameservers instead of the old ones. All existing DNS records — A, MX, TXT, and so on — live at the nameserver level, so changing nameservers effectively swaps out your entire active DNS zone.

Warning: If the new nameservers do not already have your DNS zone configured, your website, email, and any other services tied to the domain will stop working as soon as the change propagates. Configure the zone on the new nameservers before you switch.

Before you begin

• Have the fully qualified hostnames of the new nameservers — usually two to four, for example ns1.example.com and ns2.example.com.
• Confirm the new nameservers are already serving your DNS zone (A, MX, TXT, and any other records you need).
• Reduce TTLs on critical records 24–48 hours in advance to shorten propagation.
• If the domain has DNSSEC enabled, plan to coordinate DS-record changes with the nameserver swap to avoid a validation failure.

Step 1: Open the domain

1. Sign in to the Reseller Control Panel.
2. Go to Domains > Manage Domains.
3. Click the domain name you want to modify.

Step 2: Edit the nameservers

1. On the domain management page, find the Nameservers section.
2. Click Edit Nameservers.
3. Remove the existing nameservers and enter the new ones, one per field.
4. Click Save.

Note: Most TLDs require at least two nameservers. Some allow up to thirteen. The Reseller Control Panel will report any registry-specific limits when you save.

Step 3: Change nameservers in bulk

To change nameservers on many domains at once:

1. Go to Domains > Bulk Tools.
2. Select Modify Nameservers.
3. Upload a list of domains or select them from your portfolio.
4. Enter the new nameserver hostnames.
5. Submit the job and monitor progress in the Bulk Tools queue.

Step 4: Verify the change has propagated

1. Wait at least 30 minutes for the registry to publish the new delegation.
2. From a terminal or online tool, query the authoritative nameservers:

dig +short NS example.com

3. Confirm the response lists your new nameservers.
4. Spot-check critical records (A, MX) from multiple locations to confirm the zone is being served correctly.

Propagation time

The registry typically publishes the change within minutes to an hour. Worldwide caches expire over 24–48 hours depending on the TLD's TTL settings. During that window, some resolvers may still return old nameservers.

DNSSEC considerations

If the domain has DS records published at the registry and you are moving to a nameserver provider that doesn't sign the zone:

1. Remove the DS record at OpenSRS first.
2. Wait 24–48 hours for caches to clear.
3. Change the nameservers.

If both old and new providers sign the zone, coordinate a key exchange or unsign / re-sign carefully. See Configuring DNSSEC for the DS-record workflow.

Troubleshooting

• "Invalid nameserver" error. The hostname may not resolve, or the TLD may require glue records. Register glue at the parent registry before retrying.
• Change saved but old nameservers still answering. DNS caches have not expired. Wait the full TTL window before re-testing.
• Email or website down after the swap. The new zone is missing records. Restore the old nameservers temporarily and reconfigure the zone before switching back.

Next steps

• Add or edit DNS records at the new provider. Once nameservers point to the new host, you manage all records there. See Create or Edit DNS Records.
• Configure glue records, if your new nameservers use hostnames within the same domain. See Adding, Modifying, and Deleting Glue Records.
• Enable DNSSEC at the new provider, if available, and publish the new DS record at OpenSRS. See Configuring DNSSEC.

Questions? Contact OpenSRS Support.