NS Lookup
Find the authoritative nameservers for any domain.
About this tool
NS (nameserver) records specify which servers are authoritative for a domain's DNS zone — in other words, which servers hold the real, up-to-date copy of that domain's DNS records that the rest of the internet eventually queries. This is usually the first thing to check when diagnosing DNS resolution problems or verifying a registrar/host migration.
When to check NS records
- After changing web hosts — confirming the domain now points to the new host's nameservers instead of the old one.
- After changing DNS providers — e.g. moving DNS management to Cloudflare — to verify the switch has taken effect at the registrar.
- Diagnosing "site not found" errors — if NS records are missing, incorrect, or point to nameservers that no longer respond, nothing else in the domain's DNS zone can resolve.
- Redundancy checks — best practice is at least two nameservers, ideally in different networks, so the domain stays resolvable if one nameserver goes down.
Nameservers vs. hosting
Nameservers and web hosting are often — but not always — provided by the same company. A domain's NS records can point to one provider's DNS (e.g. Cloudflare) while the actual website is hosted somewhere else entirely, as long as the DNS zone's A/CNAME records are set to point at the right server.
How many nameservers should a domain have?
Most registrars and DNS providers assign two to four. Two is the practical minimum for redundancy; more than four rarely adds meaningful benefit for most sites.
Why do my NS records look different from what I set at my registrar?
Nameserver changes can take up to 48 hours to propagate fully, since NS records themselves are cached with their own TTL by resolvers around the internet.
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