For Organisation Administrators: licensed Collaborators with the relevant organisation-wide permissions.
What you will achieve
Demonstrate control of your organisation's domain by adding the TXT record supplied by Backstory and checking it.
The verified badge establishes domain control. It is not a certification of the organisation's security, compliance or identity in every other context.
Before you start
Confirm the organisation and domain. You need access to the domain's authoritative DNS settings, or a named DNS administrator who can make the change for you.
Arrange a narrow DNS change: add the supplied TXT record without replacing unrelated TXT, mail or website records. The instructions below describe the record Backstory requests, not the layout of every DNS provider's console.
Start verification
- Open Settings > Organisation > Verification.
- Read the current status. If verification is already pending, use its current instructions instead of repeatedly starting over.
- Select Start verification and enter the domain you control, without a website path.
- Submit the domain and review the generated DNS instructions.
- Copy the supplied TXT value exactly. Check the domain and record type before giving the details to your DNS administrator.
Add and check the record
- In your DNS provider's management interface, open the correct domain's DNS records.
- Add a TXT record at the root of that domain. Backstory describes the name as @; your provider may represent the root differently.
- Paste the exact value from the current verification request. Save the new record without removing existing TXT values.
- Return to Backstory and select Verify DNS.
- If the record is not yet found, read the message and use View retrieved TXT records where offered to compare what Backstory can currently see. DNS changes can take time to appear.
- Once verification succeeds, reload the page and confirm the verified domain and recorded check information.
Do not put the verification value or a DNS-management screenshot into a public guide or support message unless that disclosure is intended.
Check it worked
Confirm that the badge belongs to the intended organisation and domain, not a similarly named fixture or subsidiary. Keep the DNS change reference with your administrator's records.
Leave the verification TXT record in place unless your domain-management process intentionally ends verification. A later recheck can fail if the record disappears.
If something goes wrong
| Problem | Next action |
|---|---|
| TXT record is not found | Check authoritative DNS, root/name, exact value and whether the change has propagated |
| You entered the wrong domain | Cancel the pending request and start a correct one; use the new instructions |
| DNS lookup is temporarily unavailable | Retry later; repeated creation of new requests will not fix DNS connectivity |
| Previously verified status changes | Check whether DNS records or the domain's administration changed and follow the displayed recheck result |
Human judgement matters
Cancel verification cancels this verification request; the confirmation explains that other settings and memberships are unaffected. It does not remove a DNS record from your provider. Any DNS removal is a separate, deliberate action by the DNS administrator.
What next?
For the wider context, see Configure work planning, reporting and disclosure.
Check how the badge appears in the intended organisation surface. Keep domain ownership and DNS access under your usual administrative review.
Get help
Contact your organisation's support route with this guide reference, the affected page and a sanitised error. Do not include passwords, keys or session details.