How to configure custom name servers

Updated: 3 November 2026 · Applies to: WHM reseller accounts

Setting up custom name servers, for example ns1.example.com and ns2.example.com for your own domain, is a two-step process: create A records pointing those names at your actual server IP addresses, then register those name servers with your domain's registrar. Both steps need to be done; skipping the second one means the name servers exist on your server but the wider internet has no way to look them up.

Step 1: create the A records in WHM

1. Log in to WHM.
2. Go to DNS Functions, then Edit DNS Zone.
3. Select your primary domain and click Edit.
4. Scroll to the end of the zone file, where new entries are added.
5. Add an A record for ns1 pointing to your first server IP address.
6. Add a second A record for ns2 pointing to your second server IP address, if you have one; some setups use the same IP for both.
7. Save the zone.

If you are not sure which IP addresses to use, they are usually listed in your welcome email, or available from your hosting provider's support team.

Step 2: register the name servers with your domain's registrar

This step happens outside WHM entirely, at whichever company your domain is registered with, and the exact steps differ by registrar. Search that registrar's own help center for "register custom name servers" or "register child name servers"; this is a standard feature most registrars support, just reached through slightly different menu names in each one's own control panel.

Confirm it worked

DNS changes, especially registering new name servers at the registrar, can take a few hours to propagate. Once it has had time to settle, confirm both steps worked:

dig ns1.example.com +short

dig example.com NS +short

The first command should return your server's IP; the second should list your new name servers once the registrar-side change has propagated.