Troubleshooting DMARC Issues

This guide will go over troubleshooting DMARC issues that you may encounter and how to resolve them.

Missing SPF and DKIM records

For a DMARC record to take into effect, you will need to ensure that you have a SPF record and DKIM records added to your domain DNS.

To add the SPF and DKIM records for each of our Mail services we offer, please use these guides here:

Dedicated email hosting:

• Setting up DKIM for Dedicated Email Hosting
• MX and SPF Records Required for Dedicated Email Hosting

Google Workspace:

• Setting up Google Workspace MX records

Microsoft 365:

• Setting Up DKIM for Your Microsoft 365 Domain
• Adding a Domain Name to Microsoft 365

Missing DMARC record

Some providers are now requiring a DMARC record to be set for your domain. If you do not have one added, you may get bounce back emails with the error “Missing DMARC record” or similar. To add one in, you can refer to this guide here:

• Adding a DMARC Record

DMARC record added incorrectly

DMARC records are a TXT record, which need to be added in a specific way. Check to see if the DMARC record is added in like the following:

• Hostname: _dmarc

(If your domain is example.com your DMARC record will be added on _dmarc.example.com)

• Record Type: TXT
• Value: The DMARC record value itself.

DMARC Syntax/requirements

DMARC has a few syntax requirements and the tag order for the most part, does matter.

Here are a couple examples of records where they don’t meet those requirements:

Bad Example: p=none; v=DMARC1; rua=mailto:user@example.com The “v=DMARC1” string must be at the start of the record.

Good Example: v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:user@example.com

Bad Example: v=DMARC1; fo=1; p=none ;rua=mailto:user@example.com The “p=” policy tag must appear immediately following the “v=” tag.

Good Example: v=DMARC1; p=none; fo=1; rua=mailto:user@example.com

Bad Example: v=dmarc1; P=Reject; rua=mailto:user@example.com The string “DMARC” should always be in capital letters, everything else should also be in lower case.

Good Example: v=DMARC1; p=reject; rua=mailto:user@example.com