Setting up a custom domain for Cloudflare customers

If you manage DNS directly within Cloudflare, you must complete a specific sequence of steps to ensure a continuous and secure HTTPS access for your custom white label domain. 

We utilize Cloudflare's Delegated Domain Control Validation (DCV) which allows our infrastructure to automatically manage your SSL certificate renewals in the background.

Login into your Cloudflare account and switch to your zone that contains your custom domain or subdomain.

If you have an Cloudflare Enterprise Subscription you need to release your Zone Hold first. If your account is on a Free, Pro, or Business plan, this option will not exist in your dashboard and you can omit this step.

To turn of the zone hold you need to

1. Locate the Quick Actions menu in the Overview section.
2. Toggle the Zone Hold to Off to temporarily release it.

1. Navigate to your DNS records and create a new CNAME entry.
2. Set the Name to: _acme-challenge.[your-custom-subdomain] (e.g., _acme-challenge.qr.yourdomain.com).
3. Set the Target to: ab5bc23a127648cf.dcv.cloudflare.com.
4. Critical Requirement: You must ensure the Proxy status is toggled to "DNS Only" (Gray Cloud). If this specific record is proxied, the automated validation will fail.

Once the unproxied CNAME is in place, you can set your domain as Production Domain from your branding section. We will immediately trigger the provisioning process. Cloudflare will verify the CNAME record, issue and renew your SSL certificate while your account is active.