---
title: Subdomain delegation and available setups · Cloudflare DNS docs
description: Subdomain setup relies on a process known as delegation. When, in a
  parent domain such as example.com, an NS record is created for a subdomain
  blog.example.com, this means that DNS management for the subdomain can be done
  separately, in its own DNS zone.
lastUpdated: 2025-08-20T18:47:44.000Z
chatbotDeprioritize: false
source_url:
  html: https://developers.cloudflare.com/dns/zone-setups/subdomain-setup/setup/
  md: https://developers.cloudflare.com/dns/zone-setups/subdomain-setup/setup/index.md
---

Warning

Subdomain setup is only available for Enterprise accounts. If you only want to create a subdomain for your site in Cloudflare, refer to [Create a subdomain record](https://developers.cloudflare.com/dns/manage-dns-records/how-to/create-subdomain/).

[Subdomain setup](https://developers.cloudflare.com/dns/zone-setups/subdomain-setup/) relies on a process known as delegation. When, in a parent domain such as `example.com`, an [NS record](https://www.cloudflare.com/learning/dns/dns-records/dns-ns-record/) is created for a subdomain `blog.example.com`, this means that DNS management for the subdomain can be done separately, in its own [DNS zone](https://developers.cloudflare.com/dns/concepts/#zone).

```mermaid
    flowchart TD
      accTitle: Example of parent zone and subdomains
      A[<code>example.com</code>] --> B[<code>docs.example.com</code>]
      A[<code>example.com</code>] --> C[<code>blog.example.com</code>]
      subgraph Parent domain
        A
      end
      subgraph Subdomains
        B
        C
      end
```

***

## Available setups

The availability of different setups will depend on both the parent zone setup and the setup used for the child zone. A child zone holds DNS management for a delegated subdomain.

| Parent zone | Child zone | Available |
| - | - | - |
| [Full](https://developers.cloudflare.com/dns/zone-setups/full-setup/) or [Secondary](https://developers.cloudflare.com/dns/zone-setups/zone-transfers/cloudflare-as-secondary/) | [Full](https://developers.cloudflare.com/dns/zone-setups/full-setup/) | Yes |
| [Full](https://developers.cloudflare.com/dns/zone-setups/full-setup/) or [Secondary](https://developers.cloudflare.com/dns/zone-setups/zone-transfers/cloudflare-as-secondary/) | [Secondary](https://developers.cloudflare.com/dns/zone-setups/zone-transfers/cloudflare-as-secondary/) | Yes |
| [Full](https://developers.cloudflare.com/dns/zone-setups/full-setup/) or [Secondary](https://developers.cloudflare.com/dns/zone-setups/zone-transfers/cloudflare-as-secondary/) | [Partial](https://developers.cloudflare.com/dns/zone-setups/partial-setup/) | No |
| [Partial](https://developers.cloudflare.com/dns/zone-setups/partial-setup/) | [Full](https://developers.cloudflare.com/dns/zone-setups/full-setup/) | Yes |
| [Partial](https://developers.cloudflare.com/dns/zone-setups/partial-setup/) | [Secondary](https://developers.cloudflare.com/dns/zone-setups/zone-transfers/cloudflare-as-secondary/) | Yes |
| [Partial](https://developers.cloudflare.com/dns/zone-setups/partial-setup/) | [Partial](https://developers.cloudflare.com/dns/zone-setups/partial-setup/)\* | Yes |

\* Subdomain zones in partial setup are not delegated

Subdomains using a partial setup represent an exception in the sense that delegation does not apply in this context. As explained in the dedicated [Partial (CNAME) setup section](https://developers.cloudflare.com/dns/zone-setups/partial-setup/), this setup is intended to simply proxy individual subdomains through Cloudflare. For completeness, however, this is listed as an option in this table and the [how-to guide](https://developers.cloudflare.com/dns/zone-setups/subdomain-setup/setup/parent-on-partial/) has detailed explanation on how to achieve a subdomain zone using partial setup.

This table assumes zones that are in an [active status](https://developers.cloudflare.com/dns/zone-setups/reference/domain-status/). For example, if you need to add the parent zone to Cloudflare when its child zone already exists in a partial setup, you can [convert the parent zone to partial](https://developers.cloudflare.com/dns/zone-setups/partial-setup/setup/#1-convert-your-zone-and-review-dns-records) while it is still in pending status.

***

## How to

Refer to the following guides to learn how to configure a subdomain setup depending on the setup used for the parent zone:

* [Parent zone on full setup](https://developers.cloudflare.com/dns/zone-setups/subdomain-setup/setup/parent-on-full/)
* [Parent zone on partial setup](https://developers.cloudflare.com/dns/zone-setups/subdomain-setup/setup/parent-on-partial/)

Although the how-to guides in this documentation are focused on both parent domains and subdomains existing in Cloudflare, it is also possible to achieve a subdomain setup in Cloudflare while the parent domain exists in a different DNS provider.

***

## SSL/TLS certificates

If the parent domain's SSL/TLS certificate explicitly lists the delegated subdomain and is created after the subdomain's SSL/TLS own certificate, the parent domain's certificate will take precedence over the subdomain's certificate.

For instance, if `example.com` [creates an advanced certificate](https://developers.cloudflare.com/ssl/edge-certificates/advanced-certificate-manager/manage-certificates/) that directly lists `docs.example.com`, visitors to `docs.example.com` might see the SSL/TLS certificate for `example.com`.

## Access applications

To use subdomain setups with [Cloudflare Access](https://developers.cloudflare.com/cloudflare-one/policies/access/), note that:

* If the child zone is in a pending state when you create the Access application, your configuration will not automatically apply when you activate the zone. You must also re-save the Access application once your subdomain setup is active.

* If you split out a subdomain which already has an Access application, you will also need to re-save the Access application to associate it with the new child zone.
