---
title: "What is a SOA Record?"
description: "A Start of Authority (SOA) record, sometimes called a serial number, is assigned to every domain and changes everytime its DNS settings change. For example, if example.com is pointed to InMotion..."
url: https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/domain-names/soa-record/
date: 2018-11-14
modified: 2021-08-16
author: "InMotion Hosting Contributor"
categories: ["Domain Names"]
type: post
lang: en
---

# What is a SOA Record?

A Start of Authority (SOA) record, sometimes called a *serial number*, is assigned to every domain and changes everytime its DNS settings change. For example, if *example.com* is pointed to InMotion Hosting nameservers, we create a SOA record for the domain in our authoritative DNS records and update it as you change DNS settings.

A common reason to check a domain SOA record is to ensure a recent DNS change has propagated. For example, the record may have changed to [improve overall email authentication](/support/email/strengthen-overall-email-authentication/). A successful DNS change for this modification would be described as having “propagated.” Below we cover how to **view and update your SOA record**.

Here’s the breakdown of a SOA record: *domain.com. ns1.inmotionhosting.com. 2018102905 86400 7200 3600000 86400*.

| Domain | Followed by [primary nameserver](/support/domain-names/dns-nameserver-changes/what-is-a-name-server/). |
| --- | --- |
| 2018102905 | YYYYMMDD (Year, Month, Day) date format and *##* update number |
| 86400 | Seconds before the zone should be refreshed (1 day) |
| 7200 | Seconds before a failed refresh should be retried (2 hours) |
| 3600000 | Seconds before a zone is no longer considered authoritative (5 weeks 6 days 16 hours) |
| 86400 | Seconds before a resolver should assign a negative result for a subdomain before retrying(1 day) |

**Note:** You can convert seconds to days using an online including the [DuckDuckGo converter](https://duckduckgo.com/?q=seconds+to+days&ia=answer).

[View Records](#view) [Update Records](#update)

## View Your SOA Record

**Online tools** such as [MxToolbox](https://mxtoolbox.com/SOALookup.aspx) and [ViewDNS.info](https://viewdns.info/dnsrecord/) are the easiest method to view SOA records.

**[SSH command](/support/server/ssh/do-you-provide-ssh-access/)** *dig* can show the same information.

dig SOA domain.com ;; ANSWER SECTION: domain.com. 86400 IN SOA ns1.inmotionhosting.com. **2018102905** 86400 7200 3600000 86400
Add *+multiline* to the command for more details.

dig SOA *+multiline* domain.com ;; ANSWER SECTION: domain.com. 86316 IN SOA ns1.inmotionhosting.com. ( **2018102905 ; serial** 86400 ; refresh (1 day) 7200 ; retry (2 hours) 3600000 ; expire (5 weeks 6 days 16 hours) 86400 ; minimum (1 day) )

## Update SOA Record

Updating DNS records generally forces the SOA record to update automatically within 24-48 hours. If your SOA record hasn’t updated after a recent change, you’ll need to **edit another DNS record and/or contact Live Support to update this for you**.

### Update SOA in WHM

VPS users can force SOA record updates in WHM as root.

1. [**Log into WHM**](/support/edu/whm/log-into-whm/).
2. On the left, select **Edit DNS Zone**.
3. **Select** the domain.
4. Under the nameserver is the current SOA record. For example: 2018102906 Serial Number To update the SOA record, increase the last digit pair by one. For example, 20181029**06** to 20181029**07** or 20181029**29** to 20181029**30**.
5. Press **Save** at the bottom. The DNS changes should [propogate within 24-48 hours](/support/domain-names/dns-nameserver-changes/complete-guide-to-dns-records/).

For more information on editing DNS records, view our guides on [editing DNS records in WHM](/support/edu/cpanel/edit-zone/) and [cPanel Zone Editor](/support/edu/cpanel/advanced-dns-editor-cpanel/).