Verify your domain with a TXT record

Services like Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Mailchimp, Facebook, and many others ask you to prove you own a domain before they'll let you use it. The standard way to do this is to add a TXT record with a value the service gives you. This article walks through how to add one on our hosting.

What the service will give you

Every service phrases it slightly differently, but the information you'll be given will look something like one of these:

Host:   @          Value:  google-site-verification=abc123...xyz
Host:   @          Value:  MS=ms12345678
Host:   yourdomain.com   Value:  facebook-domain-verification=abcdef...

You'll always get two pieces of information:

• A Name (sometimes called Host or Record) — often just @, which means "the root of the domain," or the full domain name.
• A Value (sometimes called Content or Record value) — the actual verification string.

Adding the record (hosting with CanSpace)

If your domain has a hosting plan with us, add the record from cPanel:

1. Log in to your client area and open cPanel for your hosting account.
2. In the cPanel search bar, type zone editor and click Zone Editor.
3. Find your domain in the list and click Manage.
4. Click Add Record. A form will appear at the top of the record list.
5. Fill in:
   • Name: if the service told you @, enter your domain (e.g. yourdomain.com). If it told you something else like _dmarc or selector1._domainkey, enter that value followed by your domain (e.g. _dmarc.yourdomain.com).
   • TTL: leave the default (14400).
   • Type: select TXT.
   • Record: paste the verification string from the service.
6. Click Save Record. The record is live immediately on our side.

Adding the record (domain-only, no hosting)

If you only have a domain registration with us (no hosting plan) and you're using our DNS records manager, the process is nearly identical:

1. Log in to your client area and go to Domains → My Domains, open your domain, and choose Manage DNS Records from the Manage menu (click Set up DNS records first if you haven.t used it before).
2. Click Add record, set the Type to TXT, enter the Name (use @ for the domain itself) and Value, and save.

See How do I manage DNS entries? for details on the DNS Manager.

Verifying the record was added

After adding the record, return to the service's verification page and click Verify. If it says "not found yet," wait 15–30 minutes for DNS caches to catch up, then try again. You can also check the record is live from your end with:

dig yourdomain.com TXT +short

Or from a Windows terminal:

nslookup -type=TXT yourdomain.com

Or use whatsmydns.net — enter your domain, select TXT, click Search. The verification string should appear.

Common mistakes

Including the quotes when you shouldn't

Some services display the verification value wrapped in double quotes, like "google-site-verification=abc123". The quotes are not part of the value — cPanel adds them automatically when it stores the record. Paste only the string inside the quotes.

Entering the full domain in the Name field when the service said @

Most DNS interfaces, including cPanel, accept either @ or the full domain name to mean "the root of the zone." If the service says @ and cPanel rejects that, enter the full domain name instead (e.g. yourdomain.com).

Adding a second SPF record

If the service is asking you to add an SPF record (value starts with v=spf1) and your domain already has one, don't add a second. A domain can only have one SPF record. Instead, merge the two — copy the include: directive from the new one into your existing SPF record. See Set up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC.

Multiple DKIM and verification TXT records are fine — it's only SPF that has to be unified.

Adding the verification to the wrong domain

If you have multiple domains, double-check you're editing the zone for the domain the service asked you to verify. Adding the record to otherdomain.com won't verify yourdomain.com.

Common services and the records they ask for

Leave verification records in place

Some clients remove verification records after the service is verified, thinking they're no longer needed. Don't. Many services re-check periodically, and if the record is gone, they'll mark your domain as unverified and stop working. Leave verification records in place indefinitely — they do no harm.

Related articles

• How do I manage DNS entries?
• Set up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC for your domain
• DNS record types explained

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