How to add a TXT record for SPF to help prevent email spam

Summary: SPF allows administrators to specify which hosts are allowed to send mail on behalf of a given domain by creating a specific SPF record (or TXT record) in the Domain Name System (DNS).

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Instructions

Note:
  1. This article applies to Microsoft 365 subscriptions acquired via the Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) program from Dell. This excludes Microsoft 365 consumer products such as Microsoft 365 Personal, Family or licenses purchased with a new Dell system.
  2. This article does not apply to Microsoft 365 subscriptions acquired through a channel partner.

Mail exchangers use DNS records to check that mail from a given domain is being sent by a host sanctioned by that domain's administrators.

Note: Important: You cannot have more than one TXT record for SPF for a domain. If your domain has more than one SPF record, you'll get email errors, as well as delivery and spam classification issues. If you already have an SPF record for your domain, do not create a new one for Office 365. Instead, add the required Office 365 values to the current record so that you have a single SPF record that includes both sets of values.
 

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To add a TXT record for SPF, follow these steps:

  1. Sign in to your DNS host’s website.
  2. Choose your domain.
  3. Find the page where you can edit DNS records for your domain.
  4. Edit the existing SPF record or create a new TXT record for SPF.
Note: Important: SPF is designed to help prevent spoofing, but there are spoofing techniques that SPF cannot protect against. In order to protect against these, once you have set up SPF, you should also configure DKIM and DMARC for Office 365. To get started, see Use DKIM to validate outbound email sent from your domain in Office 365  External URL. Next, see Use DMARC to validate email in Office 365  External URL.
 
  1. In the boxes for the new record, type or copy and paste the set of values below that apply to your situation.
    • If you use email with Exchange Online only (not with SharePoint Online), use these values:

Record Type

Host

TXT Value

TTL

TXT (Text)

@

v=spf1 include:spf.protection.outlook.com -all

1 hour

 

Note: We recommend copying and pasting this entry so that all of the spacing stays correct.
 
  1. For TTL: Set this value to 1 hour or to the equivalent in minutes (60), seconds (3600), etc.
  2. When you have finished, save the record.

Affected Products

Microsoft 365 from Dell
Article Properties
Article Number: 000185522
Article Type: How To
Last Modified: 10 Oct 2024
Version:  6
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