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SayVel Help

Cloudflare

If your domain is already on Cloudflare, it moves differently from the other guides. Cloudflare can do two separate jobs for a domain, and the right steps depend on which one you have.

Which case is yours?

Section titled “Which case is yours?”

Use the lookup and read two lines.

  • If the Registrar line names Cloudflare, you have case 2.
  • If the Registrar line names another company and the Nameservers lines have cloudflare in their names, you have case 1.

If you already changed your nameservers to the two on your SayVel dashboard, those also have cloudflare in their names. Compare the lookup to your dashboard. If they match, you are done and can check that it worked.

Case 1: Registered elsewhere, DNS on your own Cloudflare account

Section titled “Case 1: Registered elsewhere, DNS on your own Cloudflare account”

Your domain was bought at another company, and you (or someone who built your old site) set it to use Cloudflare’s nameservers. The place to make the change is your registrar, not Cloudflare. Cloudflare says a domain can be added to a different Cloudflare account by adding it there and then updating the nameservers at the registrar. After that, your old Cloudflare account marks the domain as moved, and removes it after a short wait.

  1. In your Cloudflare account, open your domain and go to the DNS Records page.

  2. Select Import and Export, then select Export. Keep the file, and send it to us if we ask.

  3. If DNSSEC is on for this domain, turn it off before anything else. See DNSSEC for what to do and how long to wait.

  4. Find your registrar in the list of guides, and follow it to replace the nameservers with the two on your SayVel dashboard.

  5. After the change has had time, check that it worked.

What to expect afterward

Section titled “What to expect afterward”
  • Cloudflare says a domain that has been moved stays in your old account for 7 days with a Moved status. Then it is marked as deleted, and 7 days later it is removed. You do not need to remove it yourself.
  • Anything you set up inside your Cloudflare account for this domain, such as email forwarding, redirect rules, or certificates, belongs to that account. Tell us what you use, so we can set up what you still need on our side. Cloudflare’s own move guide says certificates are not carried to a new account.
  • The export in step 2 is the safest list of what your domain uses now. We also read your live records ourselves, but a file from you can catch things that a read from outside misses.
  • Use the two nameservers shown on your SayVel dashboard, exactly as written. Cloudflare says a domain that is also in another Cloudflare account can be given a different pair, so the two you see may not match a pair you have seen anywhere else.
  • Some Cloudflare accounts, mostly Enterprise ones, have a zone hold on their domains. It stops the domain being added to any other Cloudflare account, including ours. If we tell you your domain is held, open your domain in Cloudflare, go to Quick Actions, switch Zone Hold to off, choose how long, and select Release hold.

Case 2: Your domain is registered with Cloudflare

Section titled “Case 2: Your domain is registered with Cloudflare”

Cloudflare says every domain registered with it must use Cloudflare’s own nameservers, and there is no setting to change that. To use the two nameservers on your SayVel dashboard, the registration has to move to another registrar first. That move is called a transfer. Read the notes below the steps first.

  1. Message us from your SayVel dashboard so we can plan the timing with you.

  2. Check the 60-day rules below. If one applies, wait until it has passed.

  3. If DNSSEC is on for this domain, turn it off in your Cloudflare account. See DNSSEC for how long to wait before changing nameservers.

  4. In your Cloudflare account, open the Manage Domains page and select Manage next to your domain.

  5. Select Configuration, then Unlock, then Confirm and Unlock.

  6. Copy the authorization code Cloudflare shows you. Your new registrar may call it an auth code, an authentication code, or an EPP code.

  7. At your new registrar, start a transfer in and enter the code when it asks. Pick a registrar that lets you set your own nameservers, such as GoDaddy, Namecheap, or IONOS.

  8. After your new registrar sends the transfer, Cloudflare lets you approve it. Approve it to start right away. If you do not, Cloudflare approves it on its own on the fifth day.

  9. When the transfer finishes, follow your new registrar’s guide to change the nameservers.

Notes for case 2

Section titled “Notes for case 2”
  • The 60-day rules: a domain cannot be transferred if it was registered in the last 60 days, if it was transferred in the last 60 days, or if the owner contact information on it changed in the last 60 days.
  • Cloudflare says that when a transfer out completes, it removes the domain from your account. Plan to change the nameservers at the new registrar right away, and tell us when the transfer is about to finish.
  • Cloudflare says anyone with an admin role on your account can unlock a domain and get its authorization code. If you did not unlock it yourself, check who has access.
  • Future renewals are billed by your new registrar. Cloudflare says you will not be charged for renewals after the transfer completes.
  • Cloudflare can also move a registered domain from one Cloudflare account to another. We do not use that move, because your domain would then sit in SayVel’s account and we would be the ones paying its renewals. Your domain stays registered to you, in an account you control, so we ask for a transfer to another registrar instead.
  • If the domain will not unlock or transfer, see A locked domain.