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NS · type 2

Lists the servers that answer for a zone.

Last updated 5 Oct 2026 from the IANA RR TYPE registry

Short answer

NS records name the authoritative nameservers for a zone. The parent zone (for example the .com registry) holds a copy, set at your registrar, and that delegation is what decides where the world looks for your records.

Type
NS
Code
2
Defined in
RFC 1035
IANA description
an authoritative name server
Field: Name server
Host name of an authoritative server

How it works

Changing DNS host means changing the NS records at the registrar. Until the parent’s NS TTL expires in resolver caches, some lookups still go to the old host, so keep the old zone serving the same records during a move.

Example

example.com.  86400  IN  NS  ns1.dns-host.example.

Example uses reserved documentation names and addresses (RFC 2606, RFC 5737, RFC 3849).

Common mistakes

  • Editing records at a host that isn’t the one your NS records point to (the change “does nothing”).
  • NS records in the zone that disagree with the delegation at the registrar.

How to check yours

To check a delegation, compare the NS records your DNS host shows with the ones the registry publishes: our lookup asks the zone itself, while a WHOIS or RDAP lookup shows what the registry holds. If they differ, the registry’s list wins, and records edited at the other host are never seen.

Related record types

SOAThe zone’s header: primary server, contact, serial and timers.DSThe parent zone’s fingerprint of a signed child’s key (DNSSEC).

Sources

Sources

  1. IANA: Resource Record (RR) TYPEs registry · checked 5 Oct 2026
  2. RFC 1035 · checked 5 Oct 2026