SPF Record Lookup
Look up the SPF (Sender Policy Framework) record for a domain and verify mail send authorization
Usage
• Domain: enter a bare domain without https:// (e.g. example.com)
• SPF records define which servers are authorized to send email on behalf of this domain
• A correctly configured SPF record reduces the chance of email being marked as spam
What SPF record lookup is for
An SPF (Sender Policy Framework) record lookup queries the TXT records of a domain and parses the SPF policy, returning the full record, the list of authorized sending mechanisms (IP ranges, includes, and directives), and the final catch-all qualifier. It also checks whether the SPF record has any security issues such as a permissive '+all', a missing 'all' qualifier, or more than 10 DNS lookups.
Common uses include verifying that all legitimate sending services (transactional email, CRM, mailing lists) are included in the SPF record, diagnosing delivery failures caused by SPF rejection, and auditing SPF configuration as part of an email security review alongside DKIM and DMARC.
Frequently asked questions
How do ~all and -all differ?
~all produces softfail and -all produces fail. These are SPF evaluation results, not guaranteed delivery or rejection. Receivers apply local policy and other information such as DKIM and DMARC.
What is the 10-lookup limit?
RFC 7208 limits DNS-querying mechanisms and modifiers during evaluation to ten terms, including include, a, mx, ptr, exists and redirect. This is not a simple count of all DNS packets. Exceeding the limit produces permerror.
My email is still being rejected despite having an SPF record — why?
Check that the sending IP is covered by the SPF mechanisms, that the record uses '-all' or '~all' at the end, and that the 'envelope from' domain matches the domain where SPF is published. Also verify DKIM and DMARC to complete the email authentication stack.
Do subdomains inherit the parent SPF record?
No. SPF is checked on the envelope sender domain, which is often a subdomain (e.g. mail.example.com). Each sending subdomain needs its own SPF record unless you use a wildcard, which is generally not recommended.
References and result limitations
Online results reflect the queried source or probe state at that time. Record the target, time, nodes or data source, and parameters when citing them. A single result does not establish continuous availability everywhere.
These references explain protocol or format rules; they do not endorse results produced by this site.