You need a domain name before ACM can prove you own anything. Maybe you already have one at GoDaddy or Namecheap or Cloudflare. Maybe you want to buy a fresh one through AWS and keep the whole thing in one place. Either path works, but they set up the rest of the static-hosting flow a little differently.

If you want AWS’s exact version of the registrar workflow, the Route 53 domain registration guide and the Route 53 pricing page are the authoritative references.

Route 53 is two services in one: a domain registrar and a DNS hosting service. You can use Route 53 for one, both, or neither. The important thing right now is choosing how you’ll control the domain name, because the next lesson is about hosted zones and authoritative DNS—and that only makes sense once you know where the domain itself lives.

Registering a Domain Through Route 53

Route 53 supports registration for most common TLDs: .com, .net, .org, .io, .dev, .link, .click, and hundreds more. Pricing varies by TLD. As of AWS’s September 2025 Route 53 pricing list, a .com registration is $15/year and a .click registration is $3/year. That spread is the real lesson here: TLD pricing is all over the place, so check the current pricing list before you impulse-buy a clever domain.

You can register a domain through the console or the CLI. The console is simpler for a one-time operation. Navigate to the Route 53 console, select “Registered domains” from the sidebar, and click “Register domain.” Search for the domain you want, add it to your cart, fill in the contact details, and complete the purchase.

The CLI version uses the route53domains service (note: this is a separate service namespace from route53):

aws route53domains check-domain-availability \
  --domain-name example.com \
  --region us-east-1 \
  --output json

{
  "Availability": "UNAVAILABLE"
}

If the domain is available, you’ll see "Availability": "AVAILABLE". Domain registration via the CLI requires the register-domain command with contact details, which is verbose. For a one-time registration, the console is the better choice.

What Happens When You Register

When you register a domain through Route 53, AWS does two things automatically:

1. Creates a hosted zone for the domain. This is the same hosted zone you would create manually with create-hosted-zone. It comes pre-populated with NS and SOA records.

2. Configures the domain’s nameservers to point at the hosted zone’s nameservers. This is the delegation step that you would otherwise do manually at your registrar.

In other words, registration through Route 53 skips the manual nameserver configuration entirely. Your domain is ready for hosted-zone work immediately after registration completes.

Domain Privacy

Route 53 enables privacy protection by default for supported TLDs. This replaces your personal contact information in the public WHOIS database with Route 53’s registrar contact details. For TLDs that don’t support privacy protection (some country-code TLDs), your contact information will be publicly visible.

Transferring a Domain to Route 53

If you already own a domain at another registrar and want to move everything to AWS, you can transfer the registration to Route 53. The transfer process follows ICANN rules, which means:

1. Unlock the domain at your current registrar. Most registrars lock domains by default to prevent unauthorized transfers.

2. Get the authorization code (also called an EPP code or transfer key) from your current registrar. This proves you own the domain.

3. Initiate the transfer in the Route 53 console: go to “Registered domains,” click “Transfer domain,” enter your domain name and the authorization code, and provide contact details.

4. Confirm the transfer. Your current registrar will send a confirmation email. You (or the admin contact) must approve the transfer. Some registrars auto-approve after 5 days of no response.

5. Wait. Domain transfers typically take 5-7 days to complete. During this time, your site continues working—the domain still resolves using its current DNS configuration.

After the transfer completes, Route 53 creates a hosted zone (if one doesn’t already exist) and updates the domain’s nameservers. Your DNS records carry over if you were already using Route 53 for DNS hosting. If you were using another DNS provider, you’ll need to recreate those records in Route 53.

Using Route 53 DNS with an External Registrar

You don’t have to transfer your domain registration to Route 53 to use Route 53 for DNS. This is the approach to take if you want to keep your domain at your current registrar (maybe it was cheaper, maybe you have multiple domains managed there) but use Route 53 for hosting your DNS records.

Here’s the process:

Create a Hosted Zone in Route 53

aws route53 create-hosted-zone \
  --name example.com \
  --caller-reference "example-com-$(date +%s)" \
  --region us-east-1 \
  --output json

Note the four nameservers in the response:

{
  "DelegationSet": {
    "NameServers": [
      "ns-1234.awsdns-56.org",
      "ns-567.awsdns-12.net",
      "ns-890.awsdns-34.co.uk",
      "ns-123.awsdns-78.com"
    ]
  }
}

Update Nameservers at Your Registrar

Log into your registrar (GoDaddy, Namecheap, Cloudflare, etc.) and replace the default nameservers with the four Route 53 nameservers. The exact steps vary by registrar, but you’re looking for something like “Custom DNS,” “Custom nameservers,” or “Change nameservers” in the domain management interface.

Enter all four nameservers. Order doesn’t matter.

Wait for Propagation

After changing nameservers, DNS queries for your domain will gradually shift from the old nameservers to the Route 53 nameservers. This can take anywhere from a few minutes to 48 hours, depending on TTL values and caching behavior at various resolvers. In practice, most users see the change within a few hours.

You can verify that Route 53 is answering queries by asking the nameservers directly:

dig example.com NS +short

When the output shows the four Route 53 nameservers, delegation is complete.

Create Your DNS Records

With delegation in place, Route 53 is now authoritative for your domain. That means the hosted zone you create next is the place where ACM validation records, alias records, and everything else will eventually live.

Hosted Zone Auto-Creation Behavior

There’s a subtle gotcha when mixing domain registration and hosted zones. If you register a domain through Route 53, AWS automatically creates a hosted zone. If you then delete that hosted zone and create a new one (maybe you wanted a fresh start), the new hosted zone will have different nameservers. But the domain registration still points to the old nameservers.

You need to update the domain’s nameservers to match the new hosted zone:

aws route53domains update-domain-nameservers \
  --domain-name example.com \
  --nameservers \
    Name=ns-1234.awsdns-56.org \
    Name=ns-567.awsdns-12.net \
    Name=ns-890.awsdns-34.co.uk \
    Name=ns-123.awsdns-78.com \
  --region us-east-1 \
  --output json

The reverse also matters: if you create a hosted zone first and then register the domain, Route 53 creates a second hosted zone automatically. You’ll end up with two hosted zones for the same domain, each with different nameservers. Delete the one you’re not using and make sure the domain’s nameservers match the one you’re keeping.

aws route53 list-hosted-zones \
  --output json \
  --query "HostedZones[?Name=='example.com.'].{Id:Id,RecordCount:ResourceRecordSetCount}"

If you see two entries, one will have only 2 records (the auto-created default) and the other will have your actual DNS records. Delete the empty one.

Which Approach Should You Use?

Register through Route 53 if you’re buying a new domain and want the simplest setup. No nameserver configuration, no delegation—it just works.

Keep your existing registrar and use Route 53 for DNS if you already own a domain and don’t want to deal with the transfer process. This is perfectly fine for production use—the registrar’s only job is to hold the nameserver delegation, and once that’s configured, it doesn’t matter whether registration lives at GoDaddy or Route 53.

Transfer to Route 53 if you want everything in one place and are willing to wait 5-7 days for the transfer. This simplifies management long-term but isn’t necessary.

For this course, any of the three approaches works. The important thing is that by the end of this lesson, you know who your registrar is, whether Route 53 will host your DNS, and whether you need to update nameservers manually.

Next, you’ll look at the Route 53 side directly: hosted zones, record types, and how AWS becomes the authoritative source for your domain’s DNS answers.