How to Check If Your Domain's SPF, DKIM, and DMARC Records Are Correctly Set Up

If you already added SPF, DKIM, or DMARC records for your domain but you're not sure they're working, you don't need to dig through DNS manually to check. Both cPanel and DirectAdmin include a built-in tool that reads your domain's live DNS records, compares them against what mail servers expect, and tells you exactly which ones are missing or incorrect. In most cases, it can also add the correct record for you with a single click.

Why This Matters

SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are DNS records that tell other mail servers your emails are genuinely coming from your domain. If any of them are missing or misconfigured, your messages are more likely to land in spam or get rejected outright, even if everything else about your email setup looks fine. Checking their status directly in your control panel is the fastest way to confirm they're correct, especially after you've changed hosts, migrated email, or added a new domain.

Checking Your Records

In cPanel

1. Log in to cPanel and go to the Email section.
2. Click Email Deliverability.
3. You'll see a list of every domain on your account with a status of either Valid or Invalid.
4. Click Manage next to the domain you want to check.
5. This opens a page showing the current state of your SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records side by side with the record cPanel recommends.
6. If a record is missing or doesn't match, click Repair next to it. cPanel will add the correct record to your DNS zone automatically.

In DirectAdmin

1. Log in to DirectAdmin and open Domain Setup (or your domain's settings, depending on your skin).
2. Select the domain you want to check and look for the DNS Management or E-Mail Authentication section.
3. You'll see separate toggles or status indicators for SPF, DKIM, and DMARC.
4. If any of them shows as disabled or missing, use the matching Enable button to let DirectAdmin create the correct record for you.
5. Save your changes once all three show as enabled.

If you set up SPF, DKIM, or DMARC manually before using this tool, double-check there isn't now a duplicate or conflicting record for the same type. Having two SPF records, for example, can cause validation to fail even if each one looks correct on its own.

If a Record Still Shows as Invalid

A repaired or newly added record can take a little while to become visible everywhere, since DNS changes need time to propagate. Wait a few hours and check again before assuming something is wrong.

If it's still invalid after that, make sure you don't have a second DNS zone for the domain elsewhere, such as at your domain registrar, that's overriding the records in your hosting account. Only one set of DNS records can be active for a domain at a time, and if your nameservers point elsewhere, changes made in your control panel won't take effect.

For a closer look at what these records contain and how to add them by hand, see how to set up SPF and DKIM records.