Skip to content
Email DNS Health Checker

SPF, DKIM & DMARC Check for your domain – including MX

This SPF, DKIM and DMARC check tests your domain's email DNS records, including MX, in one go. The tool reads the DNS records, tries common DKIM selectors and explains common issues such as multiple SPF records, ?all, p=none or a missing rua address.

Built by Jakub Martyniak

Free and no sign-up required—just enter a domain and check it.

Running your own mail server? Control DNS records and delivery yourself.

Enter a domain above to check SPF, DMARC, MX, and DKIM.

Example result

What the report looks like in the Email DNS Health Checker

You enter a domain, and the checker looks up SPF, DMARC, MX and DKIM in DNS and lists any detected misconfigurations with explanations. The example uses a fictional domain with intentionally weak records; your results depend on your domain.

Example · Example with fictional domain example.com

Input: domain DNS records

DNS zone for example.com (fictional)
example.com.                    TXT  "v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ?all"_dmarc.example.com.             TXT  "v=DMARC1; p=none"example.com.                    MX   10 mail.example.com.google._domainkey.example.com.  TXT  "v=DKIM1; k=rsa; p=MIIBIjANBgkqhkiG9w0BAQEFAAOCAQ8AMIIBCgKCAQEA…"

Output: findings

  • 3 warnings
  • Warning · SPFThis record ends with ?all (neutral), giving receiving mail servers no clear guidance.

  • Warning · DMARCThe policy is p=none: emails that fail SPF/DKIM/DMARC are still delivered, not blocked or marked.

  • Warning · DMARCNo rua= reporting address is set, so this domain receives no information about spoofing attempts.

  • OK · MXMX record found: 10 mail.example.com

  • OK · DKIMDKIM record found under selector google._domainkey.

How it works

Check SPF, DKIM and DMARC: how it works

Enter a domain, run the check and read the results: see your SPF, DKIM, DMARC and MX results in just a few steps.

  1. Step 1

    Enter domain

    Enter your domain in the field, for example example.com. You can also paste a URL: the tool automatically removes the protocol, www., path and port.

  2. Step 2

    Optional: Enter a DKIM selector

    If you know your email provider's DKIM selector, open the DKIM selector field and enter it. It will be checked in addition to the 13 common selectors.

  3. Step 3

    Start check

    Start the check. SPF, DMARC, MX and the DKIM selectors are queried at the same time.

  4. Step 4

    Read result

    For each record, you can see whether it was found: the qualifier for SPF, the policy and reporting addresses for DMARC, mail servers ordered by priority for MX, and the selectors found for DKIM. Warnings and explanations appear below; you can expand the raw records if needed.

  5. Step 5

    Fix and check again

    Correct the records at your DNS provider, then check again. Results may be cached for up to 6 hours, so changes might not appear immediately.

What gets checked

SPF, DKIM, DMARC and MX checks in one go

Instead of using four separate tools, this check queries all four of your domain's email DNS record types at once and displays them together.

SPF check

Looks for the TXT record beginning with v=spf1 on the domain itself and shows the qualifier at the end (-all, ~all, ?all or +all). It warns about multiple SPF records, +all and ?all.

DKIM check

Tries 13 common selectors at selector._domainkey.deinedomain.de: google, selector1, selector2, s1, s2, k1, k2, k3, mta, default, dkim, mail, smtp. You can also enter your own selector.

DMARC checker

Reads the record at _dmarc.deinedomain.de, shows the policy (none, quarantine or reject) and rua reporting addresses, and warns about p=none, a missing or invalid policy, a missing rua address, and multiple DMARC records.

MX record check

Lists the domain's mail servers by priority. Missing MX records are normal if the domain does not receive email. A null MX („.“) is shown as an explicit refusal to receive email.

Common issues

Common SPF and DMARC issues and what they mean

The check detects these misconfigurations and explains them directly in the results, so you know what to change with your DNS provider.

Multiple SPF records

Only one TXT record with v=spf1 is allowed per domain. If there are multiple, mail servers treat this as a permerror, and the SPF check may fail completely. Combine the entries into a single record.

SPF ends with +all

With +all, or an “all” with no qualifier, any server can send email on behalf of your domain. Records commonly end with -all or ~all.

SPF ends with ?all

?all is neutral and gives receiving mail servers no clear guidance on whether to reject mail from an unauthorized server.

Multiple DMARC records

If there are multiple DMARC records at _dmarc, receiving mail servers ignore all of them. Keep only one record.

No valid DMARC policy

If p= is missing or has a value other than none, quarantine or reject, mail servers treat the record as p=none or ignore it entirely.

DMARC policy p=none

p=none is monitoring only: emails that fail the checks are still delivered. Only p=quarantine or p=reject protect against forged senders.

No rua reporting address

Without rua=, you won't receive DMARC reports, leaving you with no insight into spoofing attempts using your domain. The check also warns you if rua= is empty.

Discover more

After the check: more domain and DNS tools

FAQ

Frequently asked questions about the SPF, DKIM and DMARC check

Brief answers about SPF, DKIM, DMARC, and MX.

The check queries four things through a public DNS resolver (1.1.1.1) at the same time: the SPF record (TXT with v=spf1) on the domain itself, the DMARC record at _dmarc.deinedomain.de, MX records and DKIM under 13 common selectors (google, selector1, selector2, s1, s2, k1, k2, k3, mta, default, dkim, mail, smtp). You can also enter your own DKIM selector. See all the results at a glance.

All three are DNS records that mail servers use to check whether an email really comes from the stated domain. SPF lists authorized sending servers, DKIM digitally signs emails, and DMARC determines what happens to emails that fail these checks.

Enter your domain above and start the check. It shows whether an SPF record with v=spf1 exists, which qualifier it ends with (-all, ~all, ?all or +all), and the full record. It warns you about multiple SPF records, +all or an “all” without a qualifier, since these allow any server to send mail on your behalf, and about ?all, since it is neutral.

DKIM records use a selector chosen by your mail provider, and DNS cannot tell you which selectors exist. The check therefore tries 13 common selectors. If you know yours, enter it in the DKIM selector field. A key with an empty p= is considered revoked and does not count as a match. No match does not necessarily mean DKIM is missing.

A DMARC record is a TXT record at _dmarc.deinedomain.de, for example v=DMARC1; p=quarantine; rua=mailto:dmarc@deinedomain.de. p=none means monitoring only: emails that fail the checks are still delivered. Only p=quarantine (spam folder) or p=reject (rejected) protect against spoofed senders. The check warns you about p=none, a missing or invalid policy, a missing rua address and multiple DMARC records.

Not necessarily. Domains that do not receive email, such as send-only or forwarding domains, do not need MX records. The check shows a null MX („.“, RFC 7505) separately: it means the domain explicitly refuses to receive email.

DNS changes take time to become visible everywhere, and results for a domain may be cached for up to 6 hours. The DNS Propagation Checker shows you whether a new record is visible worldwide yet. If an SPF, DMARC or MX query fails, the check reports an error rather than “not found”, so you don't change a working record unnecessarily. Go to DNS Propagation Checker

The check is free and requires no sign-up: enter a domain, run the check, and you're done. To prevent excessive queries, checks per IP address are limited, and you need to wait a few seconds between checks. After the check, the page URL contains the domain, so you can send the link to your DNS provider, for example.

Any more questions?

Contact Support
Mail on your own VPS?

Run your own mail server with full control

A ZAP-Hosting VPS gives you full control over your DNS records and email delivery—without relying on a third-party email host.

4.4/5 Trustpilot32,000+ Active serversSince 2010

No setup. No risk. Online in seconds.

Flexible TermCancel anytimeOnline in 60 seconds

Looking for more tools? View all network tools