How to Find Nameservers in cPanel
A cPanel account does not show your nameservers on its home screen. Find the pair in the hosting welcome email or under Zone Editor → Manage as NS records, then confirm what the internet uses with dig +short NS yourdomain or a WHOIS lookup. If the registrar shows a different pair, the registrar's setting wins.
For cPanel users and resellers who need their nameservers to point a domain, or to work out why DNS edits are not taking effect.
knowledge
- Read time
- 3 min
- Sections
- 7
- Updated
- 14 Nov 2026
- Written by
- WebJi® team
Last editorial update: 14 November 2026.
What nameservers are and why there are two
Nameservers are the DNS servers that answer for your domain; the registrar tells the registry which ones to use, and every visitor's resolver then asks them for your website's IP and mail servers. Hosts publish at least two, such as ns1.provider.com and ns2.provider.com, so DNS keeps answering if one fails.
Two different places hold nameserver information, and confusing them causes most problems. The delegation at the registry (set at your registrar) decides which servers the world asks. The NS records inside your zone (visible in cPanel) are what those servers say about themselves. They should match.
Where to find nameservers in cPanel
A standard cPanel account does not show the nameserver pair on its home screen; look in the hosting welcome email, or open Zone Editor → Manage for the domain and read the NS records.
- Welcome email: the account activation email lists the pair to set at your registrar.
- Zone Editor: cPanel → Domains → Zone Editor → Manage next to the domain; filter by NS to see the nameservers the server publishes in the zone.
- Not this: General Information → Server Information shows the server's hostname and shared IP, not your nameservers.
- Client area: many hosts also print the nameservers on the hosting service's page in the billing portal.
If none of these show the pair, ask your host; nameserver names are not secret. Changing them at the registrar is covered in changing nameservers.
The fastest check: dig, nslookup and whois
Command-line lookups show the nameservers the internet actually uses, which is the answer that matters even when a panel says something else.
# macOS / Linux
dig +short NS example.in
whois example.in | grep -i "name server"
# follow the delegation from the root, to see what the registry publishes
dig +trace NS example.in
# Windows
nslookup -type=ns example.in| Command | Shows | Use it to |
|---|---|---|
dig +short NS | NS records your resolver returns | Quick check of the live pair |
whois | Name Server lines at the registry | Confirm what the registrar has set |
dig +trace | Each step from root to the TLD to your servers | Spot a mismatch between registry and zone |
nslookup -type=ns | Same as dig, on Windows | Checks without installing tools |
No command line? The DNS lookup tool and WHOIS lookup show the same data in a browser.
Setting nameservers in WHM (resellers and VPS owners)
In WHM, the server's default nameservers are set under Server Configuration → Basic WebHost Manager Setup, in the Nameservers section; new accounts' zones use these names. Individual cPanel users cannot change them.
- Open WHM → Server Configuration → Basic WebHost Manager Setup.
- Enter ns1 and ns2 hostnames and use Configure Address Records to create their A records.
- Save, then register the same hostnames as glue records (child nameservers) at the registrar of the domain they belong to.
- Resellers can often set their own branded nameservers under WHM's reseller options, if the host allows it.
Private nameservers are explained step by step in creating private nameservers. Without the glue record, registrars report that ns1.example.in does not exist at the registry.
When cPanel and the registrar disagree
The registrar's delegation always wins: if WHOIS shows different nameservers from your cPanel zone, the domain resolves from those other servers, and edits in cPanel's Zone Editor have no effect.
- Domain points elsewhere on purpose (for example Cloudflare): make DNS changes at that provider, not in cPanel.
- Domain should use your host: set the host's pair at the registrar, then wait for the TLD's cache to expire.
- "Mismatched NS records" warning: the registry delegation and the NS records in the zone differ; correct whichever is wrong.
Once the pair is correct, finding a domain's IP address confirms which server answers the website.
Checking that a nameserver change has propagated
Ask two public resolvers directly; when both return the new pair, the change is visible to most of the internet.
dig @1.1.1.1 +short NS example.in
dig @8.8.8.8 +short NS example.inOld answers are cached until their TTL expires, and NS records at the TLD level often carry long TTLs, so a nameserver change can take up to a day or two to be seen everywhere. Why that happens is explained in DNS propagation, and the DNS propagation checker tests from several locations at once.
On WebJi® cPanel hosting, email support@webji.services with the domain and your dig output if the pair looks wrong; support replies 24/7 in Hindi and English, on average within 60 minutes.
Frequently asked questions
Should I change nameservers or just add an A record?
Change nameservers when you want your host to manage all DNS, including email records. Add or edit an A record at your current DNS provider when you only want the website on the new server and email or other records must stay where they are.
Why do ns1 and ns2 have the same IP address?
On many single-server setups both names point to one machine for simplicity. It works, but gives no real redundancy. Larger hosts place them on separate servers or networks, and some use an external DNS cluster.
Can I use my own domain for nameservers, like ns1.mybrand.in?
Yes, if your host allows private nameservers. Create glue records for ns1 and ns2 at the registrar of mybrand.in pointing to the host's DNS server IPs, and make sure those servers answer for your zones. Resellers often do this for branding.
Does changing nameservers affect my email?
Yes. All DNS records, including MX, SPF and DKIM, move to the new provider. Recreate them there before switching, or mail can bounce; what an MX record is explains which ones matter.
Checked 15 November 2026 against cPanel and WHM documentation · Reviewed by the WebJi® team, Jaipur.
Ready to get started with WebJi®?
Join 12,000+ businesses across India and overseas. INR pricing, 18% GST shown before payment and 24/7 email support in Hindi and English — average first reply under 60 minutes.