How to migrate your email sending infrastructure with the Klaviyo migration wizard

You will learn

Learn how to use the migration wizard to move your email sending infrastructure from Klaviyo's legacy platform to Klaviyo's new, fully Klaviyo-built sending infrastructure.

Depending on how your account is set up, that can include your branded sending domain, your dedicated click-tracking domain, and your dedicated IP address(es). Not every account has all three. The wizard detects how your account is set up today and shows only the steps that apply to you, but you should arrange access to your DNS settings before starting. Your existing sending continues normally throughout.

Nothing about this migration requires you to change how you send email. There is no need to adjust your volume, your cadence, or your audiences for it, and doing so is not recommended. The migration works best when your sending stays consistent.

If you are moving to Klaviyo from a different email service provider, this is not the guide you want. See How to migrate your branded sending domain from a previous email service provider (ESP) to Klaviyo instead.

What the migration wizard is

Over the past several years, Klaviyo has built and refined its own email sending infrastructure, and it now carries email for tens of thousands of Klaviyo accounts. Because Klaviyo controls this infrastructure end to end, deliverability issues are diagnosed and fixed faster, and as a result, senders may see improved inbox placement and more consistent delivery.

Some accounts are still on Klaviyo's legacy infrastructure, and the migration wizard is how those accounts move across. It is a guided, in-app checklist: it inspects your account, works out which pieces of dedicated infrastructure you have, and walks you through moving each one.

Your existing sending continues while you set up the new infrastructure. When you replace an existing branded sending domain, your root domain stays the same and sending volume moves gradually from the old subdomain to the new one during warming.

The wizard appears on your Klaviyo dashboard home page: klaviyo.com/dashboard.

What the wizard migrates

The wizard covers up to 3 pieces of infrastructure and shows the steps your account needs. Many accounts have only a branded sending domain; dedicated click tracking and dedicated IPs are less common.

If your account has all 3, the wizard shows all 3 and enforces an order between them. If you only have a branded sending domain, you will see the Sending domain and Warming steps.

If your dedicated IP migration requires a sending domain and you have no legacy branded sending domain to replace, selecting Activate activates the new domain without domain warming. Your dedicated IPs still warm gradually.

Before you begin

• You need access to your DNS. This migration can require new records in your domain's DNS. You must either control the DNS yourself or be able to reach whoever does. If you do not have access to make DNS changes or are unsure how to make them, we recommend contacting your network administrator or IT team.
• You do not need to pause or change your sending. Unlike setting up a branded sending domain for the first time, this migration does not interrupt your existing sending. Campaigns and flows continue to go out on your legacy infrastructure until each new piece is activated, and volume then shifts gradually.
• You do not need to re-warm from scratch. Your domain's sending reputation carries over. The wizard warms your volume onto the new infrastructure automatically, and you do not need to build a manual warming schedule.
• Permissions. You need the same permissions required to set up a branded sending domain: an Owner, Admin, Manager, or Campaign Coordinator role. See User management and privileges reference for Static User Roles.

Checklist of actions within the migration wizard

1. Open your dashboard home page and find Update and activate your email sending setup.
2. Review which steps the wizard shows you. These are the pieces of infrastructure your account is moving.
3. Set up and verify your new branded sending domain, if shown. When replacing an existing branded sending domain, use a new subdomain on the same root domain.
4. Create and activate your new dedicated IP addresses, if shown.
5. Remove your legacy click-tracking domain and set up the new one, if shown.
6. Activate your new branded sending domain, if shown.
7. Let warming run. Keep sending at your normal cadence.

Step order and dependencies

The wizard enforces an order. You can click any step in the list to look at it, but a step that is not ready yet shows a message explaining what has to happen first. This is deliberate: activating one piece of infrastructure before another is ready can cause your email to fail authentication.

If your account is migrating more than one piece of infrastructure, these are the dependencies:

A step only appears if the matching infrastructure is in scope for your account. If you have no dedicated IP, nothing waits on the dedicated IP step.

About the DNS records you will need to add

When you set up your new sending subdomain, you choose a routing type, and that choice determines how much DNS work the rest of the migration requires.

Dynamic routing delegates your sending subdomain to Klaviyo using NS records, so Klaviyo manages that subdomain and chooses the best sending path for each message. You add the generated sending-domain DNS records, including the NS records. Klaviyo then creates the dedicated IP records for you. For click tracking, choose Automatic, when available, to have Klaviyo create its records too.

Static routing points your sending subdomain at a single, fixed sending path using CNAME records. You add a separate set of records for each piece of infrastructure, presented within that piece's own step. There is no single consolidated list of every record at the start, so plan for your DNS to be edited more than once.

Klaviyo recommends dynamic routing, both for sending performance and because it removes most of the DNS work from this migration. Static is the right choice if your DNS provider does not support NS records.

Migrate your branded sending domain

This section has three parts: setting up the domain, adding its DNS records, and verifying it.

For a full explanation of branded sending domains, see Understanding branded vs. shared sending domains.

We recommend using "kmail" or something similar as your subdomain, as it helps a DNS administrator easily identify which DNS records relate to Klaviyo.

Set up your new sending subdomain

1. Open Sending domain in the wizard, then select Continue under Set up your new domain.
2. Enter a new subdomain to send from. Your root domain stays the same, but the subdomain has to be one that isn't already in use, including the one your legacy sending domain uses today.
3. Choose your routing type, Dynamic or Static. Dynamic delegates your sending subdomain to Klaviyo using NS records, so Klaviyo manages that subdomain and picks the best sending path for each message based on performance, reputation, and stability. Static points your sending subdomain at a single, fixed sending path using CNAME records. Klaviyo recommends Dynamic; choose Static only if your DNS provider does not support NS records. Your choice also determines how much DNS work the rest of this migration takes. See the section above. Select Next to continue.
4. If your root domain does not already have a DMARC record, you are offered the option to add one. Select Next after making your choice. If your root domain already has a DMARC record, you will not see this step.

Add DNS records

Continue to DNS setup. If you returned to the checklist, select Continue under Add DNS records to reopen it. You can have Klaviyo publish the records for you, or add them yourself.

Automatically via Entri. Select Connect with Entri. Klaviyo detects your DNS provider and prompts you to sign in, then publishes the records on your behalf. If someone else manages your DNS, you can forward the login to them. This option is available for supported DNS providers; otherwise, select Set up manually.

When verification begins, select Finish to return to the checklist. Once verification succeeds, activate the domain as described below.

Manually. Select Set up manually, then follow these steps:

1. Select your DNS provider, then select Next.
2. Copy the generated records into your DNS provider's zone file.
3. Return to Klaviyo and select Verify. When verification begins, select Finish to return to the checklist.

For the record structure, provider-specific quirks, and troubleshooting, see How to set up a branded sending domain.

Verify and activate

Once your records are in place, the wizard checks them. Verification is not instant. DNS changes can take up to 48 hours to propagate, though they are usually much faster. The wizard checks periodically on its own, so you can leave the page and come back.

When your domain is verified:

• If your sending domain is the only thing you are migrating, select Activate to switch your sending over.
• If you are also migrating a dedicated IP or click tracking, your domain stays verified and waits. Activation happens later, in its own Activate domain step, once the rest of your infrastructure is ready.

Migrate your dedicated IP address

If your account has dedicated IPs on the legacy infrastructure, Klaviyo provisions the equivalent IPs on the new infrastructure for you: the same number of IPs, in the same pool types you have today. There is nothing to configure or size. Your part is to add any DNS records that apply and then activate.

1. Open IP address and select Get started under Review your existing IPs.
2. Review your existing IPs, then select Create.
3. Add any required DNS records. The work depends on the routing type you chose for your sending domain:
   • If you chose dynamic routing, Klaviyo creates the DNS records for your dedicated IPs automatically. This step completes without asking you for anything.
   • If you chose static routing, select Continue under Add DNS records. Use Connect with Entri if available, or Set up manually to add an A record for each new IP. For manual setup, select your DNS provider, select Next, add the records, then select Done.
4. Select Activate under Verify and activate when it becomes available. Klaviyo checks the DNS records and activates the IPs if verification succeeds. Your dedicated IPs are warmed gradually; there is no option to move all of your volume across at once.

Migrate your click-tracking domain

Klaviyo supports 1 dedicated click-tracking domain at a time. Remove the legacy domain in Klaviyo before setting up its replacement. A paid Klaviyo plan is required to manage dedicated click tracking.

Remove your legacy click-tracking domain

Removing the old click-tracking domain disconnects any associated universal and app links. If you use these features, contact Klaviyo Support before removing the domain to plan their transition.

1. Open Click-tracking domain in the wizard, then select Get started under Remove old click-tracking domain.
2. Select Remove & continue.
3. Select Remove in the confirmation dialog.

Between removing your legacy click-tracking domain and activating the new one, links in your emails use Klaviyo's shared click-tracking domain.

Set up your new click-tracking domain

1. Choose Automatic, if available, or Manual, then select Next. Automatic uses your dynamic branded sending domain for marketing email. If you return to the checklist, select Set up under Set up new click-tracking domain to continue.
2. For Automatic, enter a Click-tracking subdomain prefix and review the complete domain shown. For Manual, enter the full Click-tracking domain. Choose a different subdomain than your legacy domain used. If you reuse the same one, the links in emails you have already sent will stop working. For example, if your legacy click-tracking domain was links.yourbrand.com, use a new label such as click.yourbrand.com for manual setup. The root domain can stay the same.
3. Select Next.

If you chose Automatic, Klaviyo manages the DNS, begins verification, and returns you to the checklist. If you chose Manual, follow these steps:

1. Publish the generated records using Connect with Entri, when available, or Set up manually. For manual publishing, select your DNS provider and select Next to view the records, then add them at your DNS provider.
2. After the records are published, select Verify in Klaviyo, then Finish to return to the checklist.

Verify and activate your click-tracking domain

Once the records are verified, select Activate. Your new click-tracking domain is now the one used on links in your emails.

Activate your branded sending domain

If your migration includes more than just a sending domain, activation is the final setup step, and it only unlocks once the rest of your infrastructure is ready: your dedicated IP is activated and your legacy click-tracking domain has been removed.

Select Activate to move your sending onto the new domain.

Warming and moving your volume

Setup is typically a single session. Warming then runs automatically over the following weeks, and your existing sending continues normally while it does.

Your volume moves onto the new infrastructure in stages rather than all at once, and it only advances on days your account is actively sending. The most useful thing you can do is keep sending at your normal cadence. There is no need to increase volume, and going quiet will simply slow the transition down.

How long warming takes depends on your sending profile. You can follow its progress in the Warming step of the wizard, which lists your migrating infrastructure with its current status. Open the domain's actions menu and select View domain to see how far warming has progressed.

You may see one of the following states:

• Warming. Volume is moving onto the new infrastructure on schedule.
• Active. Warming is complete and all of your volume is on the new infrastructure.

What happens to your legacy infrastructure

Your legacy sending domain stays in place while warming runs. It keeps sending for you until your volume has fully moved across. Once warming is complete, the link between that domain and your Klaviyo account is removed.

Your legacy dedicated IPs work the same way. They stay in service while warming runs, and the link between them and your account is removed once warming is complete.

If other Klaviyo accounts use the same domain, they are unaffected. Only the link to your account is removed. The same is true for a shared click-tracking domain.

Your legacy click-tracking domain comes down earlier in the process, as part of the click-tracking step.

Legacy DNS records. After migration and warming finish, remove only records that are no longer used by any account or service. Keep the old click-tracking records in place so links in previously sent emails can continue to work. If other Klaviyo accounts share the legacy sending domain, retain the records they still need.

Other accounts on the same legacy setup

If you manage other Klaviyo accounts under the same brand that share the same infrastructure, such as the same branded sending domain or click-tracking domain, and you would like them migrated at the same time, contact Klaviyo Support and we will review them for inclusion.

Do not attempt to migrate accounts separately if they share a sending domain. Let Support coordinate them so the domain moves cleanly.

Troubleshooting

If a step will not verify, the cause is almost always the DNS records. Check that the records were added exactly as shown, with no extra characters and no root domain appended to the host by your DNS provider.

Use a free online DNS record checker to confirm your records are live before contacting Support. For detailed diagnosis of sending domain records specifically, see Troubleshooting branded sending domain issues.

If a step in the wizard says it is not available yet, check the dependency table above. Another step almost certainly needs to be completed first.

If you are stuck, contact Klaviyo Support.

Outcome

Your email now uses Klaviyo's own sending infrastructure. Whichever pieces applied to your account have been recreated on the new infrastructure and activated, and your sending volume has moved across gradually without interrupting your campaigns or flows.

Frequently asked questions

Additional resources