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Email deliverability

SPF records explained

What Sender Policy Framework does, how SPF TXT records work, and common mistakes.

Published: 2026-05-01Last reviewed: 2026-05-01

What SPF does

SPF lets receiving mail servers check whether an outbound server is authorized to send mail for your domain. The domain publishes a DNS TXT record listing permitted senders.

Syntax basics

SPF TXT records start with v=spf1, list mechanisms (include, a, mx, ip4), and end with an all mechanism such as -all or ~all.

One TXT per SPF

You should publish only one SPF TXT record for a given domain or label. Multiple SPF TXT records invalidate SPF for many receivers.

Related reading

After SPF is stable, align reporting with DMARC explained.

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