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SPF, DKIM and DMARC are DNS records that prove the emails sent from your domain are really from you. Without them, your emails are more likely to land in spam, and scammers find it easier to fake your address. This guide explains each one in plain English.

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In one sentence each

Gmail, Yahoo and Microsoft now expect all three for reliable delivery.

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SPF

An SPF record is a TXT record on your domain. It looks like this:
  • Each include: or other entry names a service allowed to send for you.
  • ~all at the end means “treat anything else as suspicious”.
A domain must have only one SPF record. If you use several services, such as HostCloud email plus a newsletter tool, combine them into one record. Two SPF records cause both to fail.

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DKIM

DKIM is also a TXT record, with a long key that your email service creates. Each sending service has its own DKIM record, with a different name, so you can have several. For HostCloud email, cPanel creates DKIM for you.

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DMARC

DMARC is a TXT record named _dmarc.yourdomain.com. Start in monitoring mode: Once reports show that all your genuine email passes, you can move to quarantine, and later reject, to stop people faking your address.

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Check and fix them for HostCloud email

1

Open Email Deliverability

Log in to cPanel, type Email Deliverability in the Search Tools box and open it.
2

Review your domains

Each domain shows whether SPF and DKIM are valid. Click Manage next to a domain to see details.
3

Fix problems

If your domain uses HostCloud nameservers, use Repair to fix the records automatically. If your DNS is elsewhere, copy the suggested records to your DNS provider.
Add DMARC yourself in Zone Editor. See Add or edit DNS records.

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Using another email provider?

If your email is with Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, use the SPF and DKIM values they give you. See Set up Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 email. Related: Fix emails going to spam Still stuck? Open a ticket with your domain name.