Glue is needed for an in-domain nameserver
If example.co.uk will use ns1.example.co.uk, the .UK registry needs the nameserver's IP address to avoid a circular lookup. That registry-level address is called a glue record.
Example
What a glue-record request looks like
- Nameserver 1
- ns1.example.co.uk → 192.0.2.10
- Nameserver 2
- ns2.example.co.uk → 198.51.100.20
The nameserver hostnames must also have matching A or AAAA records in the authoritative DNS zone for example.co.uk.
Avoid unnecessary changes
Most nameserver changes do not need glue
- ns1.hosting-provider.example for yourdomain.co.uk: glue is managed with the provider's own domain.
- ns.ukc.uk and ns2.ukc.uk: UKC already maintains the required host records.
- Changing ordinary A, MX or TXT records inside a DNS zone does not involve registry glue.
Before requesting glue
Prepare the authoritative nameservers first
- Configure each server to answer authoritatively for the domain.
- Create the matching A or AAAA records for each nameserver hostname.
- Confirm port 53 is reachable over both UDP and TCP.
- Provide UKC with each complete nameserver hostname and its public IP address.
- After the host objects exist, assign those nameservers to the domain.
Glue does not create a working DNS service
It only publishes how to reach the nameserver. If the server is not authoritative, its zone is incomplete, or its firewall blocks DNS, the domain can stop resolving after delegation.
Need UKC to register .UK glue?
Send the domain, nameserver hostnames and public IPv4 or IPv6 addresses. We will check whether glue is required before changing the registry record.
Request glue records