Verify a Microsoft 365 Domain with a TXT Record in NicNames DNS

Microsoft 365 asks you to prove control of a custom domain before connecting its services. If NicNames Free Name-Servers host your DNS, add the unique TXT value Microsoft provides, verify ownership, and leave your existing mail routing untouched until you are ready to move it.

1. Get the verification value from Microsoft 365

In the Microsoft 365 admin center, open Show all → Settings → Domains, choose + Add domain, and enter the domain you control. Choose the manual Add a TXT record to the domain's DNS records verification method. Copy the exact name and TXT value shown for your domain; the verification token is specific to your Microsoft 365 setup. If a domain is already in setup, reopen it from Settings → Domains and continue the setup. You need an account role that can add or manage domains in your Microsoft 365 organization.

This ownership check is separate from directing new email to Microsoft 365. Keep the current MX records in place while you verify ownership and plan the later mail change.

2. Confirm that NicNames hosts the active DNS zone

Sign in to NicNames, open Domains → ClassicDNS, and select the domain. In Name-Servers, check whether it uses Free Name-Servers. If it uses Custom Name-Servers, add the TXT record at the provider that hosts those nameservers; editing an inactive NicNames zone will not verify the domain. The NicNames domain-lookup guide can help you confirm which nameservers answer for the domain. Do not switch nameservers just to add a verification token, because that can affect existing website and email records.

3. Add the TXT record without replacing existing records

For a domain on NicNames Free Name-Servers, open DNS Records → Manage, select + Add record, and choose TXT. Microsoft commonly shows @ for the root domain; in the NicNames form, leave the new Name field empty for the root. Paste Microsoft's exact token into Text. Leave TTL at the existing default unless your DNS plan calls for a change, then select Save. Add a separate TXT row; do not overwrite an SPF, DMARC or other existing TXT value. If Microsoft specifies a different host name, use that exact host instead of the root.

If the form rejects the name or value, stop and ask NicNames Support rather than guessing a substitute.

4. Verify ownership, then plan email setup separately

Return to Microsoft 365 and select Verify for the domain. An immediate failure can mean the record has not become visible yet. Check the active DNS provider, the host name, record type and exact TXT value, then retry after DNS has had time to update. The NicNames DNS troubleshooting guide explains how to distinguish an unsaved or misplaced record from a cached older answer.

Ownership verification alone does not move email. Before changing MX records, create the needed Microsoft 365 users and mailboxes and make a mail-migration plan. When you are ready for that separate step, Microsoft's setup wizard supplies the current service records. If you later enable message signing, follow the Microsoft 365 DKIM guide for NicNames DNS using your tenant's exact CNAME targets.