diff --git a/automation/config.php.dist b/automation/config.php.dist
index c502ffc..40233ab 100644
--- a/automation/config.php.dist
+++ b/automation/config.php.dist
@@ -45,6 +45,7 @@ return [
         // ... more name servers as needed ...
     ],
     'dns_soa' => 'hostmaster.example.com',
+    'dns_serial' => 1, // change to 2 for YYYYMMDDXX format, and 3 for Cloudflare-like serial
     'zone_mode' => 'default', // nice is also available
 
     // URS Configuration
diff --git a/automation/helpers.php b/automation/helpers.php
index 71db1ab..051e093 100644
--- a/automation/helpers.php
+++ b/automation/helpers.php
@@ -284,3 +284,26 @@ function processUrlAbuseData($fileContent) {
 function checkUrlAbuse($domain, Map $urlAbuseData) {
     return $urlAbuseData->get($domain, false);
 }
+
+function generateSerial($soa_type = null) {
+    // Default to Type 1 if $soa_type is not set, null, or invalid
+    $soa_type = $soa_type ?? 1;
+
+    switch ($soa_type) {
+        case 2: // Date-based, updates every 15 minutes
+            $hour = (int) date('H');
+            $segment = (int)(date('i') / 15); // 0 through 3
+            $offset = $hour * 4 + $segment;   // Converts hour + quarter into a unique number
+            return date('Ymd') . str_pad($offset, 2, '0', STR_PAD_LEFT);
+
+        case 3: // Cloudflare-like serial
+            $referenceTimestamp = strtotime("2020-11-01 00:00:00"); // Reference point
+            $timeDifference = time() - $referenceTimestamp; // Difference in seconds
+            $serial = $timeDifference + 2350000000; // Offset to ensure longer serials
+            return $serial;
+
+        case 1: // Fixed-length, second-based serial (default)
+        default:
+            return time();
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/automation/write-zone.php b/automation/write-zone.php
index 770872b..3e9bcbd 100644
--- a/automation/write-zone.php
+++ b/automation/write-zone.php
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ Coroutine::create(function () use ($pool, $log, $c) {
         $pdo = $pool->get();
         $sth = $pdo->prepare('SELECT id, tld FROM domain_tld');
         $sth->execute();
-        $timestamp = time();
+        $serial = generateSerial($c['dns_serial'] ?? 1);
 
         $tlds = [];
 
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ Coroutine::create(function () use ($pool, $log, $c) {
             $soa->setRdata(Factory::Soa(
                 $c['ns']['ns1'] . '.',
                 $c['dns_soa'] . '.',
-                $timestamp, 
+                $serial, 
                 900, 
                 1800, 
                 3600000,