Change nameserversMove DNS management without transferring the domain

Published on October 20, 2026

Change nameservers or transfer the domain?

The two processes are constantly confused, but they are fundamentally different:

So changing nameservers is the small intervention: the domain stays where it is, only DNS management moves. That is the usual route when you move a website to a new host but want to keep the registrar.

What an NS record does

Your domain's NS records are not in your own zone, but at the extension's registry - for .de, at DENIC. They are the signpost: when a resolver asks for your domain, the registry refers it to exactly these servers.

That is why you do not change nameservers in DNS management, but in domain management at the registrar. At MainHoster.de, 4 redundant nameservers are stored per domain - if one fails, the others answer.

Beforehand: create the zone

The most important step happens before the switch. Create the complete zone at the new provider, with all records that are currently active:

• A / AAAA for the domain itself and for www
• MX for mail delivery - the most frequently forgotten record, see Use a domain for email
• TXT for SPF, DKIM, DMARC and domain verifications of third-party services
• CNAME for subdomains that point to external services
• SRV for game servers or voice services, see SRV record

If the records are identical to the previous ones, the switch is invisible to visitors. It does not matter which nameserver is currently answering - both say the same. All record types are explained in DNS records explained.

Carrying out the switch

1. Lower the TTL at the previous DNS provider - ideally to 300 seconds one or two days beforehand. That shortens the transition later. With us, the TTL is fixed at 24 hours; if you move away from us, plan for a day of transition.
2. Create the zone completely at the new provider and check the records against the old ones.
3. Replace the nameservers at the registrar - all at once, not mixed.
4. Wait. The registry passes on the change, resolvers adopt it gradually.
5. Check with nslookup -type=NS yourcompany.com or dig NS yourcompany.com.

Never mix old and new nameservers. Both sets would answer alternately - and if their zones differ, the domain resolves seemingly at random, sometimes correctly, sometimes wrongly.

How long it takes

The registry usually adopts the new NS records within a few minutes to hours. Until all resolvers worldwide have switched over, experience shows it takes up to 24 hours, in individual cases up to 48.

During this time, some visitors still see the old resolution. That is not an error. So let the old server keep running for a few days and only switch it off afterwards. If you are moving a website at the same time, Connect a domain to your web hosting describes the steps on the web hosting side.

Glue records - when the nameservers are in your own domain

A special case: you run your own nameservers that themselves live under your domain - for example ns1.yourcompany.com. That creates a chicken-and-egg problem, because to resolve ns1.yourcompany.com, you would first have to resolve yourcompany.com.

This is solved via glue records: the IP addresses of the nameservers are additionally stored at the registry. For most users, this is irrelevant - anyone using their host's nameservers does not need glue records.

Typical mistakes

• Forgetting MX records: the entire DNS management moves with the nameservers. If the MX records are missing in the new zone, mail delivery stops - often only noticed hours later.
• Only one nameserver entered: most registries require at least two, and you want redundancy anyway.
• Mixed nameservers: old and new in parallel lead to contradictory answers.
• Overlooking TXT verifications: verification records of third-party services are missing after the switch, and the connection breaks.
• Switched off too early: the old server should remain reachable for a few more days.

Frequently asked questions