Move a zone from one DNS provider to another

# Prepare

1. Export the current zone completely Connect the old provider in DNSMentor and sync. Discovery gives you every record it holds, which is usually more than the documentation shows.
2. Recreate everything at the new provider Import the exported set. Pay attention to record types the new provider handles differently — apex aliases, SRV field splitting and TXT chunking are the three that differ most between vendors.
3. Verify against the new nameservers directly Query the new provider before it is authoritative. This is the whole safety net.

dig @ns1.newprovider.net contoso.co.uk MX +short
dig @ns1.newprovider.net contoso.co.uk TXT +short

1. Lower TTLs at the old provider Including the NS records. A day ahead at minimum. The SOA minimum affects how long negative answers are cached, which matters if anything is briefly missing.

# Cut over

1. Change the nameservers at the registrar Not at either DNS provider — delegation lives at the registrar.
2. Watch both For a period, some resolvers use the old nameservers and some the new. This is why both must answer identically.
3. Leave the old zone alone for a week Do not delete it. If something was missed, the old zone answering correctly is what keeps the client working while you fix it.

# After

• Run Estate health against the domain. Delegation checks will confirm the parent and the zone agree.
• Confirm mail is flowing inbound from an external address.
• Raise TTLs back once you are confident.
• Only then remove the zone from the old provider, and keep the export.