[Support Guide] Name.com domain reports "A DNS zone for this domain already exists on NS1" error

Last reviewed by Netlify Support: September 2023

Several customers have shared with us that they are experiencing difficulties when buying a domain directly from Name.com and, soon after, attempting to use this domain with Netlify. It’s worth noting that you may see this error if you have purchased your domain from other select registrars – we’ll come on to that later.

In essence, Name.com create a DNS zone on NS1 when the domain is purchased. Because of this, and the fact that Netlify also utilise NS1 for our DNS services, we are unable to create the zone.

If you have not yet purchased your domain name from Name.com but would like to use your domain at Netlify, consider registering your domain name direct from our Domains tab within the Teams UI.

If you have already purchased your domain from Name.com or you are set on purchasing your domain from Name.com, in order to use the domain at Netlify, the following steps should be taken:

  • Remove the default nameservers from your Name.com UI for the domain in question
    • ‘Manage Nameservers’ > ‘Delete All’ or ‘Delete’

  • A button called ‘Delete DNS Zone’ will appear once all name servers have been deleted–click this option

  • You will be asked to confirm this action–select ‘Delete DNS Zone’

  • Upon clicking ‘Delete DNS Zone’, this will remove the zone from NS1 and zones will now be made available for other NS1 customers, such as Netlify

  • Proceed to configure your custom domain and Netlify DNS!

We have worked closely with Name.com and NS1 to offer this solution from within the Name.com UI and we anticipate that this will prevent the need for any email tennis on your part. For other domain registrars, you may need to reach out to them directly for additional guidance on removing these NS records and DNS zone.

Should you have any questions or encounter any issues, feel free to create a new topic and quote this thread.

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