SPF Record Check
Check any domain's SPF records and email authentication configuration for free.
What is SPF?
SPF (Sender Policy Framework) is an email authentication protocol that allows domain owners to specify which mail servers are authorized to send emails on behalf of their domain. The SPF record is published as a TXT-type DNS record and starts with v=spf1.
Why is SPF important for email marketing?
SPF is one of three main email authentication protocols (along with DKIM and DMARC). Without SPF, receiving servers cannot verify whether an email was actually sent from an authorized server. This directly affects your email delivery - without SPF, emails more often end up in the spam folder or are completely rejected.
SPF mechanisms and policy
An SPF record consists of mechanisms (include, a, mx, ip4, ip6) and a qualifier (-all, ~all, ?all, +all). Mechanisms specify which servers are authorized, while the qualifier indicates what to do with emails from unauthorized servers. The strictest policy -all rejects such emails, while ~all marks them as suspicious.
DNS lookup limit
The SPF standard allows no more than 10 DNS lookups in a single SPF record. Exceeding this limit can cause SPF checks to fail, which harms email delivery. This tool counts your lookups and warns you if you are approaching the limit.