diff --git a/core/src/main/java/google/registry/tools/server/RefreshDnsForAllDomainsAction.java b/core/src/main/java/google/registry/tools/server/RefreshDnsForAllDomainsAction.java
index d4720028d..de89ffe95 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/google/registry/tools/server/RefreshDnsForAllDomainsAction.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/google/registry/tools/server/RefreshDnsForAllDomainsAction.java
@@ -15,20 +15,25 @@
 package google.registry.tools.server;
 
 import static com.google.common.base.Preconditions.checkArgument;
+import static com.google.common.collect.ImmutableList.toImmutableList;
+import static com.google.common.collect.Iterables.getLast;
 import static google.registry.dns.DnsUtils.requestDomainDnsRefresh;
 import static google.registry.model.tld.Tlds.assertTldsExist;
 import static google.registry.persistence.transaction.TransactionManagerFactory.tm;
 import static google.registry.request.RequestParameters.PARAM_TLDS;
+import static google.registry.util.DateTimeUtils.END_OF_TIME;
 
+import com.google.common.collect.ImmutableList;
 import com.google.common.collect.ImmutableSet;
 import com.google.common.flogger.FluentLogger;
 import google.registry.request.Action;
 import google.registry.request.Parameter;
 import google.registry.request.Response;
 import google.registry.request.auth.Auth;
-import google.registry.util.Clock;
+import java.util.Optional;
 import java.util.Random;
 import javax.inject.Inject;
+import org.apache.arrow.util.VisibleForTesting;
 import org.apache.http.HttpStatus;
 import org.joda.time.Duration;
 
@@ -43,10 +48,8 @@ import org.joda.time.Duration;
  * run internally, or by pretending to be internal by setting the X-AppEngine-QueueName header,
  * which only admin users can do.
  *
- * <p>You must pass in a number of {@code smearMinutes} as a URL parameter so that the DNS queue
- * doesn't get overloaded. A rough rule of thumb for Cloud DNS is 1 minute per every 1,000 domains.
- * This smears the updates out over the next N minutes. For small TLDs consisting of fewer than
- * 1,000 domains, passing in 1 is fine (which will execute all the updates immediately).
+ * <p>You may pass in a {@code batchSize} for the batched read of domains from the database. This is
+ * recommended to be somewhere between 200 and 500. The default value is 250.
  */
 @Action(
     service = Action.Service.TOOLS,
@@ -56,47 +59,78 @@ public class RefreshDnsForAllDomainsAction implements Runnable {
 
   private static final FluentLogger logger = FluentLogger.forEnclosingClass();
 
-  @Inject Response response;
+  private static final int DEFAULT_BATCH_SIZE = 250;
+
+  private final Response response;
+  private final ImmutableSet<String> tlds;
+
+  // Recommended value for batch size is between 200 and 500
+  private final int batchSize;
+  private final Random random;
 
   @Inject
-  @Parameter(PARAM_TLDS)
-  ImmutableSet<String> tlds;
-
-  @Inject
-  @Parameter("smearMinutes")
-  int smearMinutes;
-
-  @Inject Clock clock;
-  @Inject Random random;
-
-  @Inject
-  RefreshDnsForAllDomainsAction() {}
+  RefreshDnsForAllDomainsAction(
+      Response response,
+      @Parameter(PARAM_TLDS) ImmutableSet<String> tlds,
+      @Parameter("batchSize") Optional<Integer> batchSize,
+      Random random) {
+    this.response = response;
+    this.tlds = tlds;
+    this.batchSize = batchSize.orElse(DEFAULT_BATCH_SIZE);
+    this.random = random;
+  }
 
   @Override
   public void run() {
     assertTldsExist(tlds);
-    checkArgument(smearMinutes > 0, "Must specify a positive number of smear minutes");
-    tm().transact(
-            () ->
-                tm().query(
-                        "SELECT domainName FROM Domain "
-                            + "WHERE tld IN (:tlds) "
-                            + "AND deletionTime > :now",
-                        String.class)
-                    .setParameter("tlds", tlds)
-                    .setParameter("now", clock.nowUtc())
-                    .getResultStream()
-                    .forEach(
-                        domainName -> {
-                          try {
-                            // Smear the task execution time over the next N minutes.
-                            requestDomainDnsRefresh(
-                                domainName, Duration.standardMinutes(random.nextInt(smearMinutes)));
-                          } catch (Throwable t) {
-                            logger.atSevere().withCause(t).log(
-                                "Error while enqueuing DNS refresh for domain '%s'.", domainName);
-                            response.setStatus(HttpStatus.SC_INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR);
-                          }
-                        }));
+    checkArgument(batchSize > 0, "Must specify a positive number for batch size");
+    int smearMinutes = tm().transact(this::calculateSmearMinutes);
+    ImmutableList<String> previousBatch = ImmutableList.of("");
+    do {
+      String lastInPreviousBatch = getLast(previousBatch);
+      previousBatch = tm().transact(() -> refreshBatch(lastInPreviousBatch, smearMinutes));
+    } while (previousBatch.size() == batchSize);
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Calculates the number of smear minutes to enqueue refreshes so that the DNS queue does not get
+   * overloaded.
+   */
+  private int calculateSmearMinutes() {
+    Long activeDomains =
+        tm().query(
+                "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM Domain WHERE tld IN (:tlds) AND deletionTime = :endOfTime",
+                Long.class)
+            .setParameter("tlds", tlds)
+            .setParameter("endOfTime", END_OF_TIME)
+            .getSingleResult();
+    return Math.max(activeDomains.intValue() / 1000, 1);
+  }
+
+  private ImmutableList<String> getBatch(String lastInPreviousBatch) {
+    return tm().query(
+            "SELECT domainName FROM Domain WHERE tld IN (:tlds) AND"
+                + " deletionTime = :endOfTime  AND domainName >"
+                + " :lastInPreviousBatch ORDER BY domainName ASC",
+            String.class)
+        .setParameter("tlds", tlds)
+        .setParameter("endOfTime", END_OF_TIME)
+        .setParameter("lastInPreviousBatch", lastInPreviousBatch)
+        .setMaxResults(batchSize)
+        .getResultStream()
+        .collect(toImmutableList());
+  }
+
+  @VisibleForTesting
+  ImmutableList<String> refreshBatch(String lastInPreviousBatch, int smearMinutes) {
+    ImmutableList<String> domainBatch = getBatch(lastInPreviousBatch);
+    try {
+      // Smear the task execution time over the next N minutes.
+      requestDomainDnsRefresh(domainBatch, Duration.standardMinutes(random.nextInt(smearMinutes)));
+    } catch (Throwable t) {
+      logger.atSevere().withCause(t).log("Error while enqueuing DNS refresh batch");
+      response.setStatus(HttpStatus.SC_OK);
+    }
+    return domainBatch;
   }
 }
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/google/registry/tools/server/ToolsServerModule.java b/core/src/main/java/google/registry/tools/server/ToolsServerModule.java
index dc617679e..a85b3c10f 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/google/registry/tools/server/ToolsServerModule.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/google/registry/tools/server/ToolsServerModule.java
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ package google.registry.tools.server;
 
 import static com.google.common.base.Strings.emptyToNull;
 import static google.registry.request.RequestParameters.extractIntParameter;
+import static google.registry.request.RequestParameters.extractOptionalIntParameter;
 import static google.registry.request.RequestParameters.extractOptionalParameter;
 import static google.registry.request.RequestParameters.extractRequiredParameter;
 
@@ -76,8 +77,8 @@ public class ToolsServerModule {
   }
 
   @Provides
-  @Parameter("smearMinutes")
-  static int provideSmearMinutes(HttpServletRequest req) {
-    return extractIntParameter(req, "smearMinutes");
+  @Parameter("batchSize")
+  static Optional<Integer> provideBatchSize(HttpServletRequest req) {
+    return extractOptionalIntParameter(req, "batchSize");
   }
 }
diff --git a/core/src/test/java/google/registry/testing/DatabaseHelper.java b/core/src/test/java/google/registry/testing/DatabaseHelper.java
index 07cb0a5fa..c0a5a7947 100644
--- a/core/src/test/java/google/registry/testing/DatabaseHelper.java
+++ b/core/src/test/java/google/registry/testing/DatabaseHelper.java
@@ -1357,5 +1357,16 @@ public final class DatabaseHelper {
         .isEqualTo(1);
   }
 
+  public static void assertDnsRequestsWithRequestTime(DateTime requestTime, int numOfDomains) {
+    assertThat(
+            tm().transact(
+                    () ->
+                        tm().createQueryComposer(DnsRefreshRequest.class)
+                            .where("type", EQ, DnsUtils.TargetType.DOMAIN)
+                            .where("requestTime", EQ, requestTime)
+                            .count()))
+        .isEqualTo(numOfDomains);
+  }
+
   private DatabaseHelper() {}
 }
diff --git a/core/src/test/java/google/registry/tools/server/RefreshDnsForAllDomainsActionTest.java b/core/src/test/java/google/registry/tools/server/RefreshDnsForAllDomainsActionTest.java
index 0892169fb..9d6c4b15c 100644
--- a/core/src/test/java/google/registry/tools/server/RefreshDnsForAllDomainsActionTest.java
+++ b/core/src/test/java/google/registry/tools/server/RefreshDnsForAllDomainsActionTest.java
@@ -15,18 +15,24 @@
 package google.registry.tools.server;
 
 import static com.google.common.truth.Truth.assertThat;
+import static google.registry.persistence.transaction.QueryComposer.Comparator.EQ;
+import static google.registry.persistence.transaction.TransactionManagerFactory.tm;
+import static google.registry.testing.DatabaseHelper.assertDnsRequestsWithRequestTime;
 import static google.registry.testing.DatabaseHelper.assertDomainDnsRequestWithRequestTime;
 import static google.registry.testing.DatabaseHelper.assertNoDnsRequestsExcept;
 import static google.registry.testing.DatabaseHelper.createTld;
 import static google.registry.testing.DatabaseHelper.persistActiveDomain;
 import static google.registry.testing.DatabaseHelper.persistDeletedDomain;
-import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertThrows;
 
+import com.google.common.collect.ImmutableList;
 import com.google.common.collect.ImmutableSet;
+import google.registry.dns.DnsUtils;
+import google.registry.model.common.DnsRefreshRequest;
 import google.registry.persistence.transaction.JpaTestExtensions;
 import google.registry.persistence.transaction.JpaTestExtensions.JpaIntegrationTestExtension;
 import google.registry.testing.FakeClock;
 import google.registry.testing.FakeResponse;
+import java.util.Optional;
 import java.util.Random;
 import org.joda.time.DateTime;
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.BeforeEach;
@@ -46,20 +52,16 @@ public class RefreshDnsForAllDomainsActionTest {
 
   @BeforeEach
   void beforeEach() {
-    action = new RefreshDnsForAllDomainsAction();
-    action.smearMinutes = 1;
-    action.random = new Random();
-    action.random.setSeed(123L);
-    action.clock = clock;
-    action.response = response;
     createTld("bar");
+    action =
+        new RefreshDnsForAllDomainsAction(
+            response, ImmutableSet.of("bar"), Optional.of(10), new Random());
   }
 
   @Test
   void test_runAction_successfullyEnqueuesDnsRefreshes() throws Exception {
     persistActiveDomain("foo.bar");
     persistActiveDomain("low.bar");
-    action.tlds = ImmutableSet.of("bar");
     action.run();
     assertDomainDnsRequestWithRequestTime("foo.bar", clock.nowUtc());
     assertDomainDnsRequestWithRequestTime("low.bar", clock.nowUtc());
@@ -69,18 +71,27 @@ public class RefreshDnsForAllDomainsActionTest {
   void test_runAction_smearsOutDnsRefreshes() throws Exception {
     persistActiveDomain("foo.bar");
     persistActiveDomain("low.bar");
-    action.tlds = ImmutableSet.of("bar");
-    action.smearMinutes = 1000;
-    action.run();
-    assertDomainDnsRequestWithRequestTime("foo.bar", clock.nowUtc().plusMinutes(450));
-    assertDomainDnsRequestWithRequestTime("low.bar", clock.nowUtc().plusMinutes(782));
+    // Set batch size to 1 since each batch will be enqueud at the same time
+    action =
+        new RefreshDnsForAllDomainsAction(
+            response, ImmutableSet.of("bar"), Optional.of(1), new Random());
+    tm().transact(() -> action.refreshBatch("", 1000));
+    tm().transact(() -> action.refreshBatch("", 1000));
+    ImmutableList<DnsRefreshRequest> refreshRequests =
+        tm().transact(
+                () ->
+                    tm().createQueryComposer(DnsRefreshRequest.class)
+                        .where("type", EQ, DnsUtils.TargetType.DOMAIN)
+                        .list());
+    assertThat(refreshRequests.size()).isEqualTo(2);
+    assertThat(refreshRequests.get(0).getRequestTime())
+        .isNotEqualTo(refreshRequests.get(1).getRequestTime());
   }
 
   @Test
   void test_runAction_doesntRefreshDeletedDomain() throws Exception {
     persistActiveDomain("foo.bar");
     persistDeletedDomain("deleted.bar", clock.nowUtc().minusYears(1));
-    action.tlds = ImmutableSet.of("bar");
     action.run();
     assertDomainDnsRequestWithRequestTime("foo.bar", clock.nowUtc());
     assertNoDnsRequestsExcept("foo.bar");
@@ -92,7 +103,6 @@ public class RefreshDnsForAllDomainsActionTest {
     persistActiveDomain("foo.bar");
     persistActiveDomain("low.bar");
     persistActiveDomain("ignore.baz");
-    action.tlds = ImmutableSet.of("bar");
     action.run();
     assertDomainDnsRequestWithRequestTime("foo.bar", clock.nowUtc());
     assertDomainDnsRequestWithRequestTime("low.bar", clock.nowUtc());
@@ -100,13 +110,11 @@ public class RefreshDnsForAllDomainsActionTest {
   }
 
   @Test
-  void test_smearMinutesMustBeSpecified() {
-    action.tlds = ImmutableSet.of("bar");
-    action.smearMinutes = 0;
-    IllegalArgumentException thrown =
-        assertThrows(IllegalArgumentException.class, () -> action.run());
-    assertThat(thrown)
-        .hasMessageThat()
-        .isEqualTo("Must specify a positive number of smear minutes");
+  void test_successfullyBatchesNames() {
+    for (int i = 0; i <= 10; i++) {
+      persistActiveDomain(String.format("test%s.bar", i));
+    }
+    action.run();
+    assertDnsRequestsWithRequestTime(clock.nowUtc(), 11);
   }
 }