Confirm Domain Ownership

Guide Overview

Summary:
This guide explains how to confirm domain ownership within your ActiveProspect account—from understanding what domain ownership means and why it is important, to adding domains, verifying them via DNS TXT records, confirming subdomain ownership, and enabling Auto-Retain for streamlined certificate retention.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand what domain ownership is.
• Learn why confirming domain ownership is essential for compliance, fraud prevention, and brand protection.
• Follow the steps required to add a domain to your account.
• Know how to initiate and complete the domain verification process.
• Discover how to confirm ownership of subdomains when applicable.
• Learn how to enable Auto-Retain to automatically store TrustedForm certificates generated from your verified domains.

Quick Start Workflow

1. Add Domain
2. Retrieve Your Verification Code
3. Update DNS TXT Record
4. Initiate Domain Verification
5. Confirm Subdomain Ownership (Optional)
6. Enable Auto-Retain (Optional)

Step‑by‑Step Instructions

Step 1. Add Your Domain to Your ActiveProspect Account

• Goal: Establish ownership by registering the domain(s) you control on your account, setting the foundation for secure lead certification.
• Context: Domain ownership confirms that you control the site where your leads originate. This prevents unauthorized parties from claiming your domain and ensures that certificates generated from your website are accurately attributed to your account.

Instructions:

1. Log in to your ActiveProspect account.
2. Navigate to the Domain section. If the Domains option is not visible, contact your account administrator for proper permissions.
3. Click the “Add Domains” button.
4. Enter the domain name(s) you wish to verify (for example, example.com). For subdomains, you can either add them individually or add the root domain and select the “Verify all sumdomains” option when verifying ownership of the root domain.
5. Click “Save” to add your domain(s).

Expected Result:
The domain(s) appears in your account with an initial status such as “Unconfirmed - Ownership not yet confirmed”

Step 2. Retrieve Your Unique Verification Code

• Goal: Obtain the unique verification code that demonstrates control over the domain.
• Context: Once a domain is added, a unique code is generated in your ActiveProspect account. This code must be added as a DNS TXT record to prove you own the domain.

Instructions:

1. In your ActiveProspect account, locate the domain entry you just added.
2. Under the “Actions” column, click on the “Verify Ownership” link.
3. A unique verification code will be generated; copy this code to your clipboard.

Expected Result:
You have the unique verification code ready to be deployed in your DNS settings.

Step 3. Add a TXT Record in Your Domain’s DNS Registrar

• Goal: Update your domain’s DNS settings by adding a TXT record that contains the verification code.
• Context: Inserting this code into your DNS TXT record establishes a verifiable link between your domain and your ActiveProspect account, proving ownership.

Instructions:

1. Open a new browser window or tab and sign in to your domain registrar’s account (e.g., GoDaddy, Route 53, Cloudflare).
2. Navigate to the DNS records management page for your domain (often labeled “DNS Management,” “Name Server Management,” or “Advanced Settings”).
3. Select the option to add a new TXT record.
4. In the TXT record’s value or answer field, paste the unique verification code you copied. If you are verifying a subdomin, add the TXT record to the root domain in your DNS records.
5. Save the changes.

Expected Result:
The DNS TXT record is updated with the verification code, making it publicly accessible for ActiveProspect’s verification process.

Step 4. Initiate the Domain Verification Process

• Goal: Trigger ActiveProspect to check for your DNS TXT record and update your domain’s status.
• Context: After the DNS TXT record is added and propagated, you must initiate the verification process within your ActiveProspect account to confirm domain ownership.

Instructions:

1. Return to your ActiveProspect account.
2. Locate the domain entry that you updated with the TXT record.
3. Click the “Begin Verification” button associated with that domain.
4. Wait a few minutes and refresh the page to see the updated ownership status.

Expected Result:
If the TXT record is correctly in place and has propagated, the domain’s status changes to “Confirmed - Domain ownership confirmed.” If the record is missing or misconfigured, the status remains “Unverified” along with a reason.

Step 5. Confirm Ownership of Subdomains (Optional)

• Goal: Verify that subdomains associated with a root domain are also under your control.
• Context: When adding a root domain, you may have an option to “Verify All Subdomains.” This option confirms that all subdomains (e.g., blog.example.com, shop.example.com) are owned by you.

Instructions:

1. When verifying the root domain, locate the checkbox labeled “Verify All Subdomains”.
2. Enable this option by checking the box.
3. Save your settings.

Expected Result:
All subdomains associated with the root domain are marked as “Confirmed,” ensuring they are automatically verified.

Step 6. Enable Auto-Retain in TrustedForm for Verified Domains (Optional)

• Goal: Auto-Retain TrustedForm certificates generated from your verified domains, simplifying long-term certificate storage and compliance documentation.
• Context: Enabling Auto-Retain means that every certificate issued from a verified domain is automatically stored in your account, easing the burden of manual retention.

Instructions:

1. In your ActiveProspect account, go to the TrustedForm > Certify or Issuing Certificates section.
2. Scroll down to the “Auto-Retain Confirmed Domains” section.
3. Toggle the Auto-Retain switch to “Enabled” next to your verified domain(s).
4. Save your changes.

Subdomain Ownership Statuses Explained:

• Confirmed: This status appears when the option to also verify all subdomains is checked for the given domain. Ownership of subdomains is confirmed.
• Unconfirmed: This status appears when ownership of subdomains has not been confirmed. Complete Step 5 first to ensure auto-retain applies to all associated subdomains.
• N/A: This status appears when the domain itself is a subdomain. Subdomain ownership confirmation is not applicable here because the option to verify subdomains only applies to root domains.

Expected Result:
Auto-Retain is activated. Any TrustedForm certificate generated from your verified domain – including confirmed subdomains – will be automatically stored in your account.

Validate Your Setup

To ensure everything is working correctly:

• Review the Domain section in your ActiveProspect account to verify that your domain status reads “Confirmed”.
• Use an online DNS lookup tool (e.g., nslookup.io) to confirm that the TXT record with your unique verification code is publicly accessible.
• Submit a test lead from your verified domain, then check if the TrustedForm certificate associated with the lead is retained automatically (if Auto-Retain is enabled).
• Optionally, review your TrustedForm dashboard to verify that certificates are being recorded from your domain.

Expected Result:
Your domain displays as “Confirmed” in your account and, if applicable, subdomains are “Confirmed.” Test leads should generate certificates that are retained automatically when Auto-Retain is enabled.

Ownership Status Reasons Explained:

• Verified: You have proved ownership of the domain! We successfully matched the unique code with your domain’s dns record
• Unverified: We have not proved ownership of the domain:
  • Ownership not yet verified: you have not started the verification process for this domain
  • Verification pending: you have initiated the verification process but we have not yet verified ownership
  • Connection error: there has been a timeout. If an already verified domain receives a connection error, then we will retry verification 10 times using exponential backoff. After 10 connection errors, the domain will be marked as unverified.
  • Domain not found: Domain doesn’t exist
  • Code not found: We successfully checked the domain, but there was not a TXT record with the correct code

Troubleshooting

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: What is domain ownership?
A: Domain ownership is proof that you control a specific domain, which is verified by adding a unique TXT record to your DNS settings in your ActiveProspect account.

Q: Why is confirming domain ownership important?
A: Confirming ownership prevents unauthorized claims, mitigates lead fraud, supports compliance with regulations like TCPA and CASL, and reinforces brand protection by ensuring that all certificates are legitimately tied to your account.

Q: How do I add a domain?
A: Log in to your ActiveProspect account, navigate to the Domain section, click “Add Domains,” enter your domain name, and save the changes. Then, follow the verification process as outlined in this guide.

Q: How do I confirm ownership of a domain?
A: Once a domain is added, retrieve the unique verification code from your account, add it as a TXT record in your DNS registrar, and then click “Begin Verification” in your ActiveProspect account.

Q: How do I confirm ownership of a subdomain?
A: For subdomains, you can either add them individually or add the root domain and enable the “Verify All Subdomains” option to automatically confirm ownership of all subdomains. If adding subdomains individually, add the TXT record to the root domain in your DNS. If you are verifying multiple subdomains, there can be multiple TXT records on your root domain.

Q: What are company domains and why do they matter?
A: Company domains represent the email domain used by the user who created your account. This is used to direct users from your company with the same email address to join your account rather than unknowingly creating a duplicate account.

Q: How do I enable Auto-Retain?
A: Once your domain is verified, navigate to TrustedForm , find the “Auto-Retain Confirmed Domains” section on the Certify page, toggle Auto-Retain to “Enabled” for your domain, and save your settings.

Q: Can a verified domain become unverified?
A: Domains rarely become unverified, common reasons that ownership status changes from verified to unverified;

• the code is deleted from the TXT record answer
• loss of ownership of the domain
  If you delete the code in the TXT record answer, all you need to do is re-add the same code back in. No need to generate a new domain code in your ActiveProspect Account.

Q: Can all users manage domains?
A: No, only users with the permission, “Manage user and domains for this account” will be able to see and manage domains. If you need permissions, please contact your account admin or submit a support ticket.

Glossary

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