# Setup

If you want to use Cloudflare as your primary DNS provider and manage your DNS records on Cloudflare, your domain should be using a full setup.

This means that you are using Cloudflare for your authoritative DNS nameservers.

Before you update your domain nameservers, make sure that you:

- Already own a domain name (such as
`example.com`

or`cloudflare.com`

).

- Have previously created a Cloudflare account.
- Disabled DNSSEC at your registrar (where you bought your domain name).

Provider-specific instructions


This is not an exhaustive list of how to update DS records in other providers, but the following links may be helpful:

In the Cloudflare dashboard, add your domain.

If Cloudflare is unable to identify your domain as a registered domain, make sure you are using an existing top-level domain ↗ (`.com`

, `.net`

, `.biz`

, or others).

Cloudflare requires your `apex domain`

to be one level below a valid TLD defined in the Public Suffix List (PSL) ↗. Enterprise customers can onboard lower-level subdomains using Subdomain setup.

When you start using Cloudflare's nameservers for authoritative DNS and your zone is in a full setup, Cloudflare will become your primary DNS provider. This means that your DNS records in Cloudflare need to be accurate for your domain to work properly.

When you add a new site to Cloudflare, Cloudflare automatically scans for common records and adds them to the DNS zone. The records show up under the respective zone **DNS** > **Records** page.

Since this scan is not guaranteed to find all existing DNS records, you need to review your records, paying special attention to the following record types:

- Zone apex records (
`example.com`

) - Subdomain records (
`www.example.com`

or`blog.example.com`

) - Email records

Once you have added a domain (also known as a *zone*) to Cloudflare, that domain will receive two assigned authoritative nameservers.

-
Log in to the Cloudflare dashboard ↗ and select your account and domain.

-
On

**Overview**, locate the nameserver names in**2. Replace with Cloudflare's nameservers**.

- Keep this window open while you perform the next step.

- Log in to the admin account for your domain registrar. If you do not know your provider, use ICANN Lookup ↗.

-
Remove your existing authoritative nameservers.

-
Add the nameservers provided by Cloudflare. If their names are not

**copied exactly**, your DNS will not resolve correctly.

Provider-specific instructions


This is not an exhaustive list of provider-specific instructions, but the following links may be helpful:

- Ionos ↗
- 101Domain ↗
- Amazon ↗
- Blacknight ↗
- BlueHost ↗
- DirectNIC ↗
- DNSMadeEasy ↗
- Domain.com ↗
- Dotster ↗
- DreamHost ↗
- EasyDNS ↗
- Enom ↗
- Fast Domain ↗
- FlokiNET ↗
- Gandi ↗
- GoDaddy ↗
- HostGator ↗
- Hostico ↗
- HostMonster ↗
- Hover ↗
- Internetdbs ↗
- iPage ↗
- MelbourneIT ↗
- Moniker ↗
- Name.com ↗
- Namecheap ↗
- Network Solutions ↗
- OVH ↗
- Porkbun ↗
- Rackspace ↗
- Register ↗
- Squarespace ↗
- Site5 ↗
- Softlayer ↗
- Yola ↗

Wait up to 24 hours while your registrar updates your nameservers.

When your domain is **Active**:

- You will receive an email from Cloudflare.
- Your domain will have a status of
**Active**on the**Websites**page of your account. - Online tools such as https://www.whatsmydns.net/ ↗ will show your Cloudflare-assigned nameservers (most of these tools use cached query results, so it may take longer for them to show the updated nameservers).
- CLI commands will show your Cloudflare-assigned nameservers

When you updated your nameservers, you should have also disabled DNSSEC at your registrar.

You should now enable DNSSEC to protect from domain spoofing.