SPF Settings
The SPF Settings page lets you manage the authorized senders and settings for your domain's SPF record.
Enabling SPF Management
If SPF record hosting is not yet enabled for this domain, the page shows SPF Record Hosting is Disabled instead of the directives list. Click Enable SPF Management to turn it on. A confirmation dialog explains that enabling SPF management requires you to set up DNS delegation of your SPF record so DMARC Manager can manage your Authorized Senders, and that your existing SPF record and directives are imported automatically.
Alongside this card, a What is SPF? panel explains that the SPF record authorizes senders by specifying which mail servers are allowed to send email on behalf of your domain.
Once enabled, the page redirects you to the full SPF Settings editor described below.
Note: Changes take effect only after the SPF record is verified.
Verification and Setup
At the top of the editor, a status indicator shows whether your SPF record has been verified. Use the Verify button to re-check verification of the delegated SPF record, and Setup Instructions to view the DNS records you need to add at your provider to complete delegation.
Click View Raw SPF Record to see the full SPF TXT record as currently configured, based on your Authorized Senders and settings below.
Authorized Senders
The Authorized Senders table lists all SPF directives currently configured for your domain, in the order they are evaluated. Configure which domains and services are authorized to send email on behalf of your domain. You can reorder directives by dragging rows.
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Order | The position of this directive in the SPF record. Directives are evaluated in order. |
| Qualifier | How email from this sender is treated: Pass (green), Fail (red), Soft Fail (orange), or Neutral (gray). |
| Type | The SPF mechanism: A Records, MX Records, Include, IPv4 Address/Range, IPv6 Address/Range, or Exists. |
| Address Value | The domain name or IP address for this directive. If linked to a known sender, the sender's name is shown. Directives with errors display a warning message. |
| Lookups | The number of DNS lookups this directive requires. Counts above 6 are shown in orange; counts above 10 are shown in red. Void lookups are also flagged when present, shown in orange above 2 and red above that. |
| IP | The number of IPv4 and IPv6 addresses this directive resolves to. Click a tag to view the full IP address list. |
Above the table, tags show the Total DNS Lookups and Total Void Lookups for your entire SPF record. If SPF Flattening is enabled and has reduced your lookup count, a Flattened DNS Lookups Total tag also appears, showing the optimised count.
Note: SPF records with more than 10 DNS lookups may fail validation.
Actions
Click Add New SPF Directive to open the directive form. For a full description of each field, see Add New SPF Directive.
Click Import to remove all existing directives and replace them with the directives imported from the domain's current published SPF record in public DNS. This button is unavailable once your SPF record is delegated and verified.
Note: Importing SPF directives removes all existing directives. Review the imported list carefully before saving.
Click View SPF Tree to open a visual breakdown of the domain's SPF record and its DNS lookups in a new tab.
Settings
SPF Flattening
SPF Flattening addresses the 10 DNS lookup limit by converting include, MX, and A directives into IP addresses, creating a single optimised record.
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Enabled | SPF flattening is active. The platform optimises the record automatically. |
| Disabled | SPF flattening is off. Manage DNS lookups manually. |
All Term - Default Qualifier
Senders not matched by any directive in the list are handled by the all mechanism at the end of the SPF record. Set the default qualifier to control how unmatched senders are treated.
| Qualifier | Description |
|---|---|
| + Pass (Not Recommended) | All unmatched senders pass SPF authentication. This allows any sender not in your list. |
| - Fail | All unmatched senders fail SPF authentication and should be rejected. |
| ? Neutral (Not Recommended) | Unmatched senders are treated as neither pass nor fail. |
| ~ Soft Fail | Unmatched senders are treated as suspicious. Messages are typically accepted but flagged. |
Disabling SPF Management
If SPF record hosting is verified, Disable SPF Record Hosting is shown but the disable action is unavailable until you first remove the verified SPF record from this domain's DNS setup. If the record is not yet verified, click Disable SPF Management to turn off SPF management for this domain.
Note: Disabling SPF management removes all settings and configurations for this domain. This action cannot be undone.
Saving Changes
Use Save to keep your changes and continue editing, or Save and Back to save and return to the domain list. Cancel discards your changes and returns to the domain list. Saving is unavailable for parked domains.
A Delete Domain button is also available here, letting you permanently remove this domain from DMARC Manager.
Related Topics
- Add New SPF Directive: Add an authorized sender directive to your SPF record
- What is SPF?: Introduction to SPF and its purpose
- How Does SPF Work?: Technical details about SPF operation
- Why is SPF Important?: Benefits and significance of SPF
- Limitations of SPF: Current constraints and challenges
- SPF Redirect: Using the redirect modifier
- SPF Syntax: Detailed information about SPF DNS record