Set up Google Workspace for your organization
After you sign up for Google Workspace, discover how to setup your domain, manage your team, set up recommended features, and start using your services.
Verify your domain for Google Workspace
Before using Google Workspace, you must verify that you own your domain. The reason you have to verify that you own your domain is to ensure that no one else is trying to use your domain and your Google service without your permission (to send emails, for example).
- Open the Google Workspace setup tool
- Click Continue to verify your domain with a TXT record.
Look for your verification code in the setup tool and click Copy.
- In a second browser window or tab, sign in to your domain host account.
- Go to your domain’s DNS records. The page might be called something like DNS Management, Name Server Management, Control Panel, or Advanced Settings
- Select the option to add a new record.
- For the record type, select TXT.
- In the Name/Host/Alias field, enter @ or leave it blank.
Your host might require you to enter your domain, which looks like example.com, into this field. Your other DNS records might indicate what you should enter. - In the Time to Live (TTL) field, enter 86400 or leave the default.
- In the Value/Answer/Destination field, paste the verification record you copied in step 1.
- Save the record.
* Note: If you see a warning message about changing your DNS settings, disregard it. Adding the TXT record won’t damage your website or DNS settings.
- Open the Google Workspace setup tool
- Click Continue.
Scroll to the bottom of the next page and click Verify my domain.
Important! It might take additional time for your registrar to publish the verification code. If the Google Workspace setup tool gives you an error message, wait an hour before you try again.
In extreme cases, it can take up to 48 hours for your registrar to publish your verification code.
Need Help?
If you need help with verification you can contact us our support team or start a live chat.
Next Steps:
After you verify your domain, you can set up Gmail with Google Workspace. Keep the Admin Console and your domain host site open in your browser. In a new tab or window, open detailed instructions for setting up Gmail with your host.
Start using Google Workspace
Set up MX records for Google Workspace email
To start using Gmail with your business domain, you must setup MX records. After you’ve switched to Google’s MX records, you can get your email in your Gmail inbox or through an email client like Microsoft Outlook.
Note: If people already have email with your domain (such as [email protected]), create their user accounts in the Google Admin console before you set up your MX records. That way, they’ll continue to receive email.
- Sign in to your domain’s account at your domain host
- Go to your domain’s DNS records. The page might be called something like DNS Management, Name Server Management, Control Panel, or Advanced Settings.
- Delete any existing MX records.
If you can’t delete the existing records, change their priority number to 20 or higher. - Add the new MX records for the Google mail servers from the table below
- Save your changes
- Open the setup tool in the Admin console.
- In the Gmail section, click Activate.
- Verify that you’ve created all existing email addresses and are ready for Gmail to start receiving all email for your domain. Click Continue
- On the next page, scroll to the bottom of the page and click Activate Gmail.
5. Verify that you’ve created all existing email addresses and are ready for Gmail to start receiving all email for your domain. Click Continue
6. On the next page, scroll to the bottom of the page and click Activate Gmail.
Typically, you can send and receive messages at your new Google Workspace email address in less than 6 hours. However, it may take 48–72 hours before you receive email at your new address. It’s no fun to wait, but the time for MX records to take effect depends on your domain host. We have no control over this. In the meantime, you can get your email messages at your old email client.
Values for Google Workspace MX records
Need Help?
If you need help with verification you can contact us our support team or start a live chat.
