If you ended up on this article, you probably tried to validate your email domain in Teamleader Focus, but without success. That’s why we’re providing you with a troubleshooting guide to tackle whatever issue is at play.

If your CNAME records show a ‘Verification failed’ or 'Pending' state, please check the following common causes.

1. Did you add the CNAMEs to the DNS settings of your domain provider?

If not, here’s a guide on how to add those records.

Tip: if you have to ask your provider or IT responsible to do this, you can use the functionality that copies all CNAME records at once. This way, you can avoid typos in a later stage:

2. Did you wait long enough for the CNAMEs to be validated?

Note that it can take up to 48 hours for the CNAMEs to be registered publicly.

3. Is there perhaps a typo in one of the CNAME records that was added to your domain?

In order to avoid this, we highly recommend copy pasting the CNAME name(s) and value(s).

4. Does your domain provider automatically add your domain name to the CNAME record? 

Some hosting providers automatically add your domain name to any CNAME record you enter. If this is the case, your CNAME will contain your domain name twice, for example: "subdomain.teamleader.eu.teamleader.eu".

To avoid this from happening, only add the first part of the CNAME name in the 'name' or 'alias' field of the CNAME record.

Pro-tip: check your CNAMEs yourself

As CNAMEs are registered publicly, you can verify whether you have added them correctly by using MXToolbox, more specifically their CNAME lookup: https://mxtoolbox.com/CNAMELookup.aspx. 

You simply paste (one of) the 3 CNAMEs in the search bar, and you will immediately see whether they are (already) registered publicly.

“DNS record Found” = OK

“DNS record not found” = there is still an issue or you have not completed the 48 hours waiting time.
 

If the CNAME cannot be found publicly, your domain cannot be verified by Teamleader Focus either.