Add and verify a domain in Apple Business

Overview

To use certain features of Apple Business, Apple needs to verify that your organization owns the domains you use. For example, if your organization name is Melard Clothing and you own melardclothing.com, you need to add a TXT record to that domain’s DNS server. In that way, you’re letting Apple know that you own the domain. You can verify more than one domain in Apple Business.

Verifying your domain is also one method you can use to verify your organization with Apple.

You need to verify your domain to use the following features of Apple Business:

Account Transfer
Federated authentication
Sync user directories
Create Managed Apple Accounts on that domain
Verify with Wallet on the Web
Branded Mail
To use Branded Mail, you also need to verify your mail domains with an MX record.

How do I verify a domain?

To prove you own the custom domain, you need to do one of the following:

Sync custom domains that are already verified from any identity provider (IdP) that works with Apple Business (for example, Google Workspace or Microsoft Entra ID). This allows Apple Business to retrieve all domains that have already been verified for use. After a successful connection, all domains appear as verified in Apple Business.
Manually add a text (TXT) record to a specific file. Because this file controls the domain name, the ability to add a line of text to the file proves the organization owns that domain. Apple supplies this TXT record, which is a series of random letters and numbers unique to that organization. For example:
apple-domain-verification=0RaNdOm1LeTtErS2aNd3NuMbErS4
Important: You have 14 calendar days to complete the manual verification process or you need to start over. Depending on the network configuration, it may take some time for DNS changes to appear. Make sure the person who can write records to your organization’s DNS entries (for example, an IT or DNS administrator) is notified beforehand, so the task can be completed before the expiration.

A flowchart showing the two methods of adding a domain; manually with verification or through an identity provider.

Only domains that haven’t been verified by another organization can be added. If your domain can’t be verified, additional steps need to be taken to resolve which organization is associated with a disputed domain name. This is known as a domain conflict.

What are domain conflicts?

There are two types of domain conflicts:

Example 1: A domain that’s registered by another organization.
Example 2: A domain that’s registered by another organization and they’ve added the TXT record to verify they own the domain name.

Note: Add only domains that you own. Adding a domain you don’t own results in you being unable to create Managed Apple Accounts.

Examples		The organization that registered the domain name				Your organization
Example 1		They registered melardclothing.com.				Your organization can choose to send contact information (the name of the person requesting to be contacted, their email address, and the name of the organization) to the organization that registered the domain name. That organization can choose whether to contact your organization to resolve the domain claim.
Example 2		They registered melardclothing.com and verified it.				Your organization can’t send anything to their organization because melardclothing.com is registered and they added the TXT record to verify they own the domain name. Therefore, your organization can’t use the domain name.