Transferring a domain name to a new registrar is often a simple operation. All you need is the transfer code, and you are pretty much set to initiate the process. But then you realize you still haven’t gotten your domain’s DNS records from the old host. Do you need them? Where do they even live?
That’s one of the most common points of confusion when transferring a domain name, and it came up during our April 9, 2026, Office Hours livestream. The short answer is: you need to know who handles your DNS before you go any further.
It’s not always who you think either, so let’s dive in and show you how to find that out.
The viewer’s question
To get a better understanding of why it’s important to know where your domain’s DNS is handled, let’s take a look at our viewer’s specific question.
I'm transferring a domain name to a new registrar. The former hosting company provided the transfer code, and I can do the transfer, but they have not provided the DNS records.
My question is. The hosting company says they'll keep the website on their company server for 30 days. So do I need to do anything other than transfer the domain to a new registrar to keep the site up?
In other words, does our viewer need to worry about the domain’s DNS records at all, or just transfer the domain? To answer that, it’s vital to understand two things:
DNS and domain registration are not the same thing.
How to find your DNS provider.
Let’s unpack each of them, and we’ll have an answer to the question by the end of this post.
DNS and domain registration are not the same thing
This is the number one source of confusion when it comes to domain transfers.
Fortunately, the distinction is very clear. When you buy and own a domain (like yourdomainname.com), there are two jobs that support it.
Domain registration: This is done via a registrar. They hold your domain name and the info you used to purchase it and ensure nobody else can register it while it’s active.
DNS hosting: This is whoever stores and serves your DNS records. In other words, the instructions that tell the internet where to find your website, where to deliver your email, and more. This can be your registrar, but often it isn’t.
As Nathan Ingram himself put it:
You're talking about a domain registration transfer, but that is different than DNS unless your current registrar is also doing DNS. Those are two different jobs.
Why does this distinction matter? Because if you transfer a domain to a new registrar, the DNS records don’t automatically go with it. If your DNS is handled by anyone other than the registrar, the transfer might not affect your records at all, meaning nothing breaks.
But if your registrar is also your DNS provider, moving the domain means you have to manually recreate all your DNS records at the new provider to ensure things work properly.
As you can see, that’s a huge deal. The former means your site will likely stay as it is, uninterrupted, while the latter may incur some downtime. That’s why it’s vital to understand the difference.
And if all this DNS talk is making your head spin, don’t worry, you aren’t the only one. DNS can be confusing, but we have the perfect livestream to explain it all: Demystifying DNS.
Finding who handles your DNS
The key to knowing who handles your domain’s DNS is finding your name servers. Name servers are what tell the internet where to find the rest of the DNS information. Whichever company owns those name servers is your DNS provider.
It really is that simple, and Nathan himself confirms it:
You find out who's doing DNS based on what the name servers are.
So, how do you do it? It’s actually super simple. We’ll show you three methods, all involving a WHOIS lookup.
On a Mac or Linux machine
The WHOIS lookup command is the same for both Mac and Linux. Open a terminal and type in this command (replacing yourdomain.com with the one you want to look up):
whois yourdomain.com This will give you a wall of text, so scroll through it until you find the name servers section. It should look something like this:
The name servers you see are the ones that handle your DNS. If you don’t recognize them, ask your current provider if the name servers are theirs, or use Google. Most times, a simple search will give you the information you need.
On Windows
While Windows doesn’t have a native WHOIS command, there is a way to pull DNS information, such as name servers, without having to install any extra packages.
Open a Windows terminal and follow these steps:
Type in nslookup and hit Enter.
You’ll see a blank line, so type in set type=ns then Enter again.
On the next blank line, type in the domain you want to look up.
This will query the DNS records directly, which differs from how the whois command does it. The latter looks up registration data directly from the registrar.
Alternatively, you can download the Sysinternals Whois tool, which has the exact same syntax as the Mac command. Whichever command you decide to use, though, the output will be similar and will still involve the name servers.
Again, if you don’t recognize the nameservers you see, ask your current domain registrar or hosting provider, or even put them in Google.
Of course, there are plenty of online tools for this if you aren’t comfortable using a command line.
Online tools for WHOIS lookup
Here are a few websites you can use to look up a domain’s name servers.
All of these work the same way: type in the domain you want the name servers for, hit Enter, and you’re set. Whichever method you choose to use, you’ll walk away with your domain’s name servers.
What else should you do when transferring a domain?
So, what’s next now that you know who handles your domain’s DNS? You either have to do nothing or put in a few extra hours of work.
Firstly, confirm if your registrar is also your DNS provider. It’s an important detail to know. As Nathan puts it:
If the registrar is not doing DNS, then they're not going to give you any records because they don't do the DNS.
What this means is you have to log in and get those records yourself. You can, of course, write them down and then manually move them over to the new DNS provider, but there’s usually an easier way.
Many major DNS providers offer a one-click export to a standard zone file format. In other words, you just import the file into the new zone and all your records carry over without you having to manually type them. Not only is it handy, but it’s also a backup of your DNS zone just in case you need it.
What about online DNS lookup tools?
One thing that came up during the livestream was Cloudflare’s DNS import feature.
Yes, Cloudflare is capable of scanning your domain’s current DNS zone and importing records directly to its zone. Many people use this Cloudflare functionality to preview or capture records before migrating.
However, tools like that are not perfect. Yes, they are excellent with A records and pretty spot-on with CNAMEs. However, MX and TXT records can elude them, and they are just as important as the former two. If the letter soup is confusing you, the Demystifying DNS stream we mentioned earlier explains them all.
From his experience, Nathan doesn’t rely entirely on tools like that:
I've never seen an automated scan get all of the TXT records. It’s really important that you get those because that's your authentication usually for various services that you may even have forgotten about.
The bottom line is, use those tools as a helpful reference, but don’t rely solely on them.
Know before you move: your 3-step DNS checklist
Finding out who handles your DNS is a crucial part of transferring a domain to a new registrar. It might mean you don’t have to do anything with that information, or it might mean you have to import your DNS zone to the new provider.
Whichever the case is, it’s information that’s always good to know, and it comes down to these three steps:
Run a WHOIS lookup to find your domain’s name servers.
Identify the company behind those name servers, as that’s where your DNS zone is.
Export your DNS records before you move and import them before making any changes.
In reality, this whole process takes about five minutes (if your current provider allows for an export) and can save you hours of troubleshooting or manually typing in records.
If you have any more questions about DNS, domain migration, WordPress, agency work, or hosting in general, join us for Office Hours and get answers live.