1. Visit DNS Hosting Provider & Select Create Record
Now that you have decided on your record. You will need to visit your DNS Hosting provider and login. From there you will need to find the prompt to create a new record or find the TXT section to edit. Interfaces vary from hosting provider to hosting provider.
Once you have loaded the new record creation wizard, you will notice three important fields:
- Host/Name:
- Record Type:
- Value:
The names of these fields may vary across all of the different hosting providers.
2. Select TXT DNS Record Type
Based on provider you will likely see a drop down list of DNS record types to choose from. You will want to select the "TXT" one.
3. Add Host Value
In this field more than likely you will input the value _DMARC and the hosting provider will append the domain or subdomain after that value.
Note: If you are adding a DMARC record for a subdomain, you will likely put the value _dmarc.subdomain. in the input field and the provider will likely append the domain to the end. An example of this format is displayed below:
HOST/NAME: | _dmarc.blue | .mxtoolbox.com |
4. Add "Value" information
There are two required tag-value pairs that MUST be present on every DMARC record. They are "v" and "p".
- The only tag-value pair for "v" is v=DMARC1
- For the "p" tag pair "p=" can be paired with none, quarantine, or reject. As tag-value pairs they would look like:p=none or p=quarantine or p=reject
MxToolbox recommends all new DMARC records should start with p=none, as this policy value allows you to identify email delivery problems due to the domain's SPF or DKIM so that mail isn't accidentally quarantined or rejected. We also strongly recommend you include the "rua" tag as well so that you will see the resulting reports on your email's performance.
The record you input into the Value field should look similar to the below example value for a DMARC record.
VALUE: | v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:dmarcreports@mxtoolbox.com |
- Each tag in this list should be separated by semicolons
- The "rua" & "ruf" tags support multiple email addresses with each separated by a comma
- There are several "Advanced Tags" that can be added, but aren't recommended for initial setup
5. Hit Create/Save Button
Once you have input all of those details your record should look like the below image and you will want to them hit the save or submit button to generate the record.
6. Validate Record is Setup Correctly
The last step you will want to perform is to Run a DMARC Record Check to verify the record you just created has the correct values and syntax.