What Is NS Record?
An NS (Name Server) record specifies which nameservers are authoritative for a domain — meaning which servers hold the official DNS records for that domain and can answer DNS queries about it.
Why It Matters
NS records are the top of the DNS hierarchy for your domain. They tell the internet: “To find any DNS information about example.com, ask these nameservers.” Every other record — A records, CNAME records, MX records, TXT records — lives on those nameservers.
Changing NS records is a big deal. It’s like changing the address book that everyone consults. For domain forwarding, you don’t need to change them.
How It Works
example.com NS ns1.namecheap.com
example.com NS ns2.namecheap.comWhen someone queries any DNS record for example.com:
- Their resolver asks the
.comTLD nameservers: “Who handles example.com?” - The TLD server responds with the NS records:
ns1.namecheap.com - The resolver then asks
ns1.namecheap.comfor the specific record (A, CNAME, etc.)
How Domain Forward Handles This
Domain Forward works with any nameserver. Whether your domain uses Namecheap, GoDaddy, Cloudflare, Porkbun, or any other DNS provider — you just need to add or update A and CNAME records on your existing nameservers. No NS record changes, no nameserver transfers. See our DNS setup guide.
Related Terms
Related Features
Frequently
asked questions
No. You keep your current nameservers (provided by your registrar). Domain Forward only requires changes to A and CNAME records — not NS records.
Changing NS records delegates your entire DNS to different nameservers. This affects all records — A, CNAME, MX, TXT, everything. It's only needed if you're moving DNS management to a different provider.
example.com NS ns1.registrar.com and example.com NS ns2.registrar.com. Most domains have 2-4 NS records for redundancy.
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