Glossary Term
DNS Records for Email
Configuration entries in your domain's DNS that control email routing and authentication.
What is DNS Records for Email?
DNS (Domain Name System) records are like a phone book for the internet, but for email they serve critical authentication and routing purposes.
Key DNS records for email include:
- MX Records: Point to your mail servers, telling other servers where to deliver email for your domain
- SPF Record: TXT record listing authorized sending servers
- DKIM Records: TXT records containing public keys for signature verification
- DMARC Record: TXT record at _dmarc specifying authentication policy
For cold email, proper DNS configuration is essential. Misconfigured records are one of the most common causes of deliverability problems.
Why It Matters
- 1Foundation of email deliverability - everything depends on DNS
- 2Misconfiguration is one of the top causes of emails going to spam
- 3Controls both receiving and sending email for your domain
- 4Required for email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC)
Related Tools
Related Guides
Related Terms
SPF (Sender Policy Framework)
A DNS record that specifies which mail servers are authorized to send email on behalf of your domain.
DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail)
A cryptographic signature added to emails that proves they came from your domain and weren't tampered with in transit.
DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication)
A policy that tells receiving mail servers what to do when SPF or DKIM checks fail for emails from your domain.
MX Records (Mail Exchange Records)
DNS records that specify which mail servers receive email for your domain.
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