DMARC DNS Setup: How to Add DMARC at Your DNS Provider

1. Visit DNS Hosting Provider and Select Create Record

Now that you have decided on your record, you will need to visit your DNS Hosting provider and log in. 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:

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 that 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 is not accidentally quarantined or rejected. We also strongly recommend that you include the "rua" tag so that you will see the resulting reports on your email's performance.

 

The record that you put 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" and "ruf" tags support multiple email addresses, with each separated by a comma
• There are several "Advanced Tags" that can be added, but they are not recommended for initial setup

5. Hit Create/Save Button

Once you have added all of those details, your record should look like the below image. You will want to hit the save or submit button to generate the record.

 

6. Validate Record Is Set Up Correctly

The last step is to Run a DMARC Record Check to verify that the record you just created has the correct values and syntax.