# start_domain_verification

Source: https://modulify.ai/docs/mcp/domains/start-domain-verification

Begins the ownership check for a domain before it is attached to a site, returning one TXT record to add.

- Title: Start proving ownership of a domain
- Scope: `config:write`
- Access: Makes changes

It requires a paid plan, the **Manage domains** permission, room on the site for another custom domain, up to 10, and a domain that does not already belong to this site or another one. A domain another site is only waiting to verify does not block it.

Pass a bare hostname. A value with `http://` or `https://`, a path, or fewer than 4 or more than 253 characters is refused with the same messages as the **Custom Domain** field. A leading `www.` is dropped, so `www.example.com` verifies `example.com`.

A site has one pending verification at a time, so starting a new one replaces any earlier one. The answer carries the record to add as `verificationTxtName`, which is `_modulify-verification.` followed by the domain, and `verificationTxtValue`. Once it is in place, `verify_domain` is the step that actually adds the domain, and `cancel_domain_verification` abandons the attempt. See [A domain waiting on verification](https://modulify.ai/docs/publish/custom-domains#a-domain-waiting-on-verification).

## Inputs

| Input | Type | Required | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `projectId` | string | Yes | The site id. |
| `domain` | string | Yes | The bare hostname to prove ownership of, for example `example.com`. |