> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://clickflare.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Tracking Domain Will Not Verify

> A custom domain sits in pending or error and never turns active. Work through the DNS records, propagation and SSL in order.

You added a custom domain, created the records your DNS provider asked for, and the status in ClickFlare still reads pending or error.

Domain verification happens in stages, and each stage has its own record. A domain stuck at one stage almost always means that stage's record is missing, mistyped, or not visible yet.

## The stages

<Steps>
  <Step title="Domain verification (TXT)">
    Proves you control the domain. ClickFlare gives you a host and a value to add as a TXT record.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Routing (CNAME or ALIAS)">
    Points the domain at ClickFlare so clicks resolve.
  </Step>

  <Step title="SSL verification (TXT)">
    Issues the certificate. This step only appears **after** the first two succeed, typically around ten minutes later.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Warning>
  The third step does not exist until the first two are done. If you are looking for it immediately after adding the domain, it is not missing — it has not been generated yet.
</Warning>

## Check in this order

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="1. Did you paste the host exactly?" icon="globe">
    The most frequent cause. DNS providers differ in whether they expect the full hostname or just the subdomain portion, and some silently append your domain to whatever you type — turning `_cf-custom-hostname.track` into `_cf-custom-hostname.track.yourdomain.com.yourdomain.com`.

    Check how the saved record renders in your provider's list, not what you typed into the box.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="2. Has DNS propagated?" icon="clock">
    Records are not instant. Set TTL to the lowest your provider allows — one minute where possible — so changes take effect quickly rather than sitting behind a long cache.

    If a record was created wrong and then corrected, the old value can remain cached for the length of the original TTL. Waiting is the only fix.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="3. Is the record type right?" icon="route">
    Verification records are TXT. Routing is CNAME — except on providers where a CNAME cannot coexist with other records at that name.

    On Namecheap, use an **ALIAS** record instead of CNAME. It behaves the same way for routing but can sit alongside other records without conflict.

    See [Namecheap](/docs/en/settings/namecheap), [Cloudflare](/docs/en/settings/cloudflare) and [GoDaddy](/docs/en/settings/go-daddy).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="4. Is Cloudflare proxying the record?" icon="shield">
    If your DNS sits behind Cloudflare, the orange cloud must be **off** for the tracking record. Proxied records route traffic through Cloudflare rather than to ClickFlare, and verification fails.

    See [Cloudflare](/docs/en/settings/cloudflare).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="5. Did you save the record?" icon="circle-check">
    Several providers require an explicit confirmation — Namecheap's green tick is the usual culprit — and discard the row if you navigate away. The record looks present on screen but was never written.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="6. Is the subdomain already in use?" icon="triangle-exclamation">
    If the hostname you are trying to use already has records pointing elsewhere, they conflict. Pick a subdomain dedicated to tracking rather than one already serving a site.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Verified, but clicks still fail

A domain that shows active but produces errors on click is usually an SSL problem rather than a DNS one. Certificates are issued after verification and take a few minutes; a link clicked in that window fails.

If it persists well beyond that, remove the domain and add it again rather than editing records repeatedly — a half-completed verification does not always recover.

## Use your own domain, always

<Warning>
  Never run traffic on a shared tracking domain. Ad networks flag them constantly, and once flagged, every campaign on that domain suffers — rejected ads, broken redirects, lost clicks. This is the single most common avoidable cause of tracking failure.
</Warning>

## Related

<Columns cols={2}>
  <Card title="Custom domains" icon="globe" href="/docs/en/settings/custom-domains">
    Adding a domain and completing each verification stage.
  </Card>

  <Card title="New verification method" icon="circle-check" href="/docs/en/settings/adding-a-custom-domain-new-verification-method">
    The current verification flow, step by step.
  </Card>
</Columns>