When you upgrade your Notion workspace to a Business or Enterprise plan, you can claim your company domain to enable single sign-on and show verified members. Domain verification confirms you own the domain, such as yourcompany.com. This article walks you through the DNS-based verification process and highlights common mistakes that cause the verification to fail.
Without proper verification, your team cannot use SSO or see the verified badge next to member names. The process requires adding a TXT record to your DNS provider. This guide covers the exact steps and the pitfalls that block successful verification.
Key Takeaways: Notion Domain Verification
- Settings & Members > Settings > Domain > Verify domain: Starts the process by generating a unique TXT record value.
- DNS TXT record with Notion-provided value: Proves ownership of the domain to Notion’s servers.
- TTL set to 300 seconds or lower: Speeds up DNS propagation so verification does not time out.
How Notion Domain Verification Works
Notion uses a standard domain ownership check through DNS. When you start verification, Notion generates a random verification string. You must add this string as a TXT record to your domain’s DNS settings. Notion then queries the DNS to see if the record exists. If the record matches, your domain is verified.
This method works because only the domain owner can modify DNS records. No file upload or email confirmation is required. The process applies to any domain registrar or DNS host, including GoDaddy, Cloudflare, Namecheap, and AWS Route 53.
Before you start, you need workspace owner or admin permissions. You must also be on a Business or Enterprise plan. The domain must be a top-level domain like example.com, not a subdomain like blog.example.com. If you use a subdomain, you must verify the parent domain first.
Steps to Verify Your Workspace Domain in Notion
- Open workspace settings
Click the gear icon in the left sidebar to open Settings & Members. Then click Settings in the top navigation bar. - Go to the Domain section
Scroll down to the Domain section. If you are on a Business or Enterprise plan, you will see a Verify domain button. Click it. - Enter your domain name
Type your full domain, for example yourcompany.com. Do not include www or https. Click Continue. - Copy the TXT record value
Notion displays a unique verification string. It looks likenotion-verification=abc123def456. Copy the entire string exactly. Do not edit it. - Add the TXT record to your DNS provider
Log in to your domain registrar or DNS hosting provider. Find the DNS management or Zone Editor section. Add a new TXT record with the host set to @ (or leave blank) and the value set to the string you copied. Set TTL to 300 seconds or lower for faster propagation. - Wait for DNS propagation
DNS changes can take from a few minutes to 48 hours. Notion checks for the record every few minutes. You can click the Check again button in Notion to force a recheck. - Confirm verification
When Notion finds the matching TXT record, the domain status changes to Verified. You will see a green checkmark next to the domain name in the Domain section.
Common Pitfalls That Block Domain Verification
Typo in the TXT record value
The most frequent cause of verification failure is a typing error when copying the verification string. Notion compares the exact string, including hyphens and equal signs. A single missing character will cause the check to fail. Always paste the value directly from Notion into your DNS editor. Do not retype it.
Incorrect host or name field
Some DNS providers require a host or name field for TXT records. For a root domain, this field must be @ or left empty. If you enter www or the domain name itself, the record will not match. Check your DNS provider’s documentation for the correct syntax for root domain TXT records.
DNS propagation delay
Even with a low TTL, some DNS providers cache records for longer than the TTL value. If you recently changed the record, wait at least 30 minutes before clicking Check again. Notion may also cache the result for up to one hour. If verification fails, wait and retry.
Multiple TXT records for the same domain
Some domains already have TXT records for email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) or other services. Having multiple TXT records is fine. However, if you accidentally add a second record with the same host but a different value, some DNS providers will merge them. This can cause Notion to see a malformed string. Ensure the new record is a separate entry, not an edit to an existing one.
Using a subdomain instead of the root domain
Notion requires verification of the root domain. If you try to verify subdomain.example.com, the check will fail. You must verify example.com first. After the root domain is verified, you can add subdomains in the Domain section. Notion will treat them as verified automatically.
Plan downgrade before verification completes
If your workspace plan is downgraded from Business or Enterprise before the DNS record is confirmed, the Domain section disappears. You lose the verification string and must start over after upgrading again. Complete the verification before making any plan changes.
Verified Domain vs Unverified Domain: Capabilities Compared
| Feature | Verified Domain | Unverified Domain |
|---|---|---|
| Single sign-on (SSO) setup | Available | Not available |
| Verified badge on member profiles | Shown next to member names | Not shown |
| Domain-based member filtering | Available in workspace settings | Not available |
| Email domain capture for new members | Auto-joins users with matching email | Manual invite required |
| Plan requirement | Business or Enterprise | Any plan |
If Verification Still Fails
Notion still shows Unverified after 24 hours
Use a public DNS lookup tool like dig or nslookup to confirm the TXT record is visible. Run nslookup -type=txt yourcompany.com in a terminal. If the record does not appear, the DNS change has not propagated. Contact your DNS provider if it takes longer than 48 hours.
Notion shows the record but says it does not match
Compare the value in your DNS editor with the value in Notion. Look for extra spaces, quotation marks, or line breaks. Some DNS providers wrap values in quotes automatically. Remove any extra quotes if present. The value must be exactly as Notion provided it.
You lost the verification string
If you close the verification window before copying the string, you can restart the process. Click Verify domain again. Notion generates a new string. Delete the old TXT record from your DNS and add the new one.
You can now verify your Notion workspace domain by adding a single TXT record. The verification enables SSO and the verified badge for your team. For faster propagation, set the TTL to 300 seconds or lower before adding the record. If the check fails, use a DNS lookup tool to confirm the record before contacting Notion support.