# SPF (Sender Policy Framework)

> SPF (Sender Policy Framework) is a DNS record that lists the servers allowed to send email for a domain, so that receiving mail servers can check whether a message came from an approved source.

Also called: Sender Policy Framework, SPF record, SPF TXT record.

The domain owner publishes a TXT record that begins with v=spf1 and names the permitted senders, such as Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, or a newsletter service. When a message arrives, the receiving server looks up that record and compares it with the server that delivered the message. The ending of the record, such as ~all or -all, says how to treat senders that are not listed.

Without SPF, receiving servers have less reason to trust mail from your domain, and messages are more likely to be filtered as spam. SPF is also one of the two checks that DMARC relies on. For a small business it is usually the first email authentication record to set up, and it must be updated whenever a new tool starts sending email in the company's name.

A domain may have only one SPF record; publishing two makes the check fail. The record is limited to ten DNS lookups, which is easy to exceed after adding several services. SPF checks the hidden return address, not the From address people see, and it often breaks when mail is forwarded, so it is not enough alone. We set up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC together as part of our email deliverability service.

## Where we do this work

- [Email and DNS deliverability](https://techpitsolutions.systems/services/email-dns-deliverability)

## See also

- [DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail)](https://techpitsolutions.systems/glossary/dkim): DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) is an email authentication method that adds a digital signature to each outgoing message, which receiving servers verify using a public key published in the sender's DNS.
- [DMARC](https://techpitsolutions.systems/glossary/dmarc): DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance) is a DNS policy that tells receiving mail servers what to do with messages that fail SPF and DKIM checks for a domain, and where to send reports about them.
- [Email deliverability](https://techpitsolutions.systems/glossary/email-deliverability): Email deliverability is the measure of whether the email a business sends actually reaches recipients' inboxes instead of being rejected, delayed, or filed in the spam folder.

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Source: https://techpitsolutions.systems/glossary/spf

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