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How to manage your domain name services (DNS) settings in Google Domains

This article gives you steps to view the domain name servers (DNS) for your domain and switch to custom name servers.

How it works

Name servers identify the location of your domain on the internet. You have 2 name server options:

  • Google Domains: By default, Google Domains assigns 4 name servers to your domain.
  • Custom name servers: Alternatively, you can add up to 12 custom name servers. 

If you use the Google Domains name servers, there’s no setup required. We manage the name servers and their resource records for you. When you use the Google Domains name servers, you can add up to 100 resource records to your domain. 

Do not mix name servers. Use either Google Domains name servers or custom name servers. 
If you use name servers from another Google product , like Google Cloud DNS,  select Custom name servers in Google Domains.

How to view name servers

To view the name servers for your domain, do the following:

  1. Sign in to Google Domains.
  2. Select the name of your domain.
  3. In the left navigation panel, click DNS. 
  4. You should now see the Name servers section with a list of the name servers for your domain.

How to switch to custom name servers

If you use custom name servers, your DNS provider (not Google Domains) manages the name servers. Keep the following requirements in mind:

  • You must create resource records via your DNS provider. 
  • You must use at least 2 name servers, but we recommend that you use at least 4. Check with your DNS provider for the number and names of name servers available to you.

To switch to using custom name servers, do the following:

  1. Sign in to Google Domains.
  2. Select the name of your domain.
  3. In the left navigation panel, click DNS.
  4. Under Name servers, select Use custom name servers.
  5. Enter a custom name server in the "Name server" field.
  6. Click the + button to add each other name server.
  7. Click Save to save your name servers.

After you switch to custom name servers, set up new resource records with your DNS provider. 

Note: When you switch to custom name servers, a warning message appears at the top of the page. You can click Restore defaults in the warning message to restore the Google Domains name servers.

How to restore Google Domains name servers

To restore the default Google Domains name servers, follow these steps:

  1. Sign in to Google Domains.
  2. Select the name of your domain.
  3. In the left navigation panel, click DNS.
  4. Scroll down and click Restore the Google Domains name servers.

Note: In order for DNS changes to take effect, it might take a period of several minutes, depending on your location, or 24-48 hours across the entire internet.

For help with Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC) for your domain, see setting up DNSSEC for your domain.

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