What this checker tests
When your email arrives somewhere, the receiving server looks up a handful of DNS records on your domain to decide whether to trust it. This tool reads the same records and checks each one the way a strict receiver would.
| Record | What it does |
|---|---|
| MX | Tells the world which servers receive mail for your domain. |
| SPF | Lists the servers allowed to send mail for your domain. |
| DKIM | Publishes the public key that verifies the signature on your messages. |
| DMARC | Says what receivers should do with mail that fails SPF and DKIM, and where to send reports. |
| MTA-STS and TLS-RPT | Require encrypted delivery to your servers and report when it fails. |
| BIMI | Lets supporting inboxes show your logo next to your messages. |
How to read your results
- Pass means the record exists and has no problems we can detect.
- Needs attention means it works but leaves a gap, such as a DMARC policy of
p=nonethat only monitors, or an SPF record close to the 10-lookup limit. - Problem means receivers will treat the record as missing or broken. Fix these first: they directly hurt delivery.
- Optional records add protection but aren't required for mail to be delivered.
The most common problems we see
- Two SPF records. Adding a new email service often means adding a second
v=spf1record instead of editing the first. With two, SPF fails for every message. Merge them into one. - Too many SPF lookups. Each
include:costs at least one DNS lookup, and SPF stops at 10. Old services nobody uses any more are the usual cause. - No DMARC record. Since 2024, Gmail and Yahoo require DMARC from anyone sending in bulk, and a missing record makes spoofing your domain easy.
- DMARC stuck at p=none. It's the right place to start, but it doesn't stop anyone. Once your reports show your own mail passing, move to
quarantineand thenreject. - MX pointing at a server that no longer exists. This happens after changing hosting providers, and it means incoming mail is lost.
Fixing what you find
Every record lives in your domain's DNS, which is usually managed where you bought the domain or wherever your nameservers point. Open the DNS settings there, edit or add the TXT or MX record the checker describes, then run the check again.
Our guide to setting up SPF, DKIM and DMARC walks through each record with examples, and why emails go to spam covers the problems DNS alone can't fix.