DNS Verification Records

For any domain that does not end in .byu.edu, there will be several verification records needed (for AWS, SSL, etc). This tutorial assumes you've been sent one or more records to add.

This process is fairly straightforward, but to verify everything is correct, please send a screenshot of the DNS record you've added, either in the form below or in a reply to the email that was sent to you.

Adding DNS Records

This process may vary slightly or look different from the photos here but should be similar for most DNS providers. (Feel free to ask for help if you have questions or if the fields in your setup look very different from the ones here).

There are two different types of DNS verification records that may need to be added.

A screenshot of an example record adder for a hosting company.

CNAME

In your hosting site, when adding a new record, make sure that the TYPE is set to CNAME.

There are two parts of the CNAME data, one on either side of the CNAME in the record you were sent.

Name

The Name will be on the left and it will end with the root domain name (the base name of your site, such as example.com).

PLEASE NOTE: You do NOT need the entire Name text in the Name field. Most DNS setups assume that your root domain is added to the end of anything entered into that field. So if you want to add a CNAME for www.example.com, you would only need to enter www in the Name field.

If you want the CNAME associated only with your root domain (rather than a subdomain), enter @ into the Name field. In the example above, if you wanted to add a CNAME for just example.com, you would type @ into the Name field.

Value

The Value will be on the right of the CNAME in the record you were sent. Enter that exactly as it appears, except for the trailing period.

TTL

The TTL can be left with the default value for your provider.

Examples

If the verification record you've been asked to add is "_d383a6d9ce498766eb0f889.www.example.com. CNAME _2e4dfb.bwzjrqdvsp.acm-validation.aws." then the fields for the DNS record would look like the image below. Note that ".example.com" is left off, as well as any trailing periods.

A screenshot of the name and Value copied into the DNS record port

PLEASE TAKE A SCREENSHOT AND ATTACH IT TO THIS FORM OR RESPOND TO THE EMAIL GIVEN BEFORE ADDING OR SAVING. If something goes wrong we can help diagnose the reason why.

TXT

There are two parts of the TXT data, one on either side of the TXT in the record you were sent.

Name

The Name will be on the left side of the record you were sent, and it will end with the root domain name (the base name of your site, such as example.com).

PLEASE NOTE: You do NOT need the entire Name text in the Name field. Most DNS setups assume that your root domain is added to the end of anything entered into that field. So if you want to add a TXT record for _www.example.com, you would only need to enter _www in the Name field.

If you want the TXT (or any other type of record) associated only with your root domain (rather than a subdomain), enter @ into the Name field. In the example above, if you wanted to add a TXT record for just example.com, you would type @ into the Name field.

Value

The Value will be on the right of the TXT in the record you were sent. Enter that exactly as it appears, except for the trailing period.

TTL

The TTL can be left with the default value for your provider.

Examples

If the verification record you've been asked to add is "example.com TXT tb4b7zy5w5kmyn32fj97t1bftbcbwjlk" then the fields for the DNS record would look like the image below.

A screenshot of the TXT type being filled out

As another example, if you want to enter the record "_www.example.com TXT d2etb9ttu45m3b.cloudfront.net", you would enter _www in the name field, and d2etb9ttu45m3b.cloudfront.net as the value.

PLEASE TAKE A SCREENSHOT AND ATTACH IT TO THIS FORM OR RESPOND TO THE EMAIL GIVEN BEFORE ADDING OR SAVING. If something goes wrong we can help diagnose the reason why.