SPF Record Checker: Fix Duplicate and Missing SPF Records
Use this SPF record guide to understand what SPF does, why duplicate SPF records fail, and how to check the TXT record for your domain.
SPF tells receiving mail servers which systems are allowed to send email for your domain. It is published as a TXT record on the root domain, and the domain should normally have one SPF record.
SPF problems are common after a business adds a new mail tool, billing system, newsletter platform, CRM, or help desk without merging the new include into the existing record.
What an SPF record looks like
An SPF record starts with v=spf1 and then lists allowed senders using mechanisms such as include, ip4, ip6, a, mx, or exists.
The record ends with a policy such as ~all or -all. The policy matters, but the first priority is making sure the domain has one valid SPF record rather than multiple competing records.
The duplicate SPF problem
Two separate SPF TXT records do not combine automatically. Many receivers treat that as a permanent SPF error, which can hurt delivery even if both records look reasonable on their own.
If Google Workspace and a newsletter platform both gave you SPF snippets, merge them into one record instead of publishing both separately.
SPF is not the whole email setup
SPF only covers authorized sending sources. It does not receive mail, verify DKIM signatures, or publish your domain's DMARC policy.
If email is not arriving at all, check MX first. If email lands in spam or fails authentication, SPF is a strong place to look next.
Quick checklist
- Find TXT records on the root domain.
- Confirm only one record starts with v=spf1.
- Merge provider includes into the existing SPF record.
- Remove old senders that no longer send mail for the domain.
- Keep the record under DNS lookup limits when many vendors are included.