How to Add an SPF Record in Hover: Step-by-Step Guide

Hover is a domain registrar known for its clean, no-upsell approach to domain management. Adding an SPF record in Hover is simple and takes just a few minutes. This guide walks you through every step in Hover's dashboard, from locating the DNS settings to verifying that your record is live. No technical experience required. Not sure what to put in your SPF record? Start with our complete guide.

Before You Start

You need two things:

1. Your Hover account login. You need access to the account where your domain is registered.
2. Your SPF record value. This is the text string you will add to DNS. If you are not sure what it should contain, SPF Creator can build the correct record based on the email services you use.

A typical SPF record looks like this:

v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all

Your record will vary depending on which services send email for your domain — Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Mailchimp, SendGrid, and others. New to SPF? Read What is SPF? for an introduction, or see SPF record examples for common configurations.

Step-by-Step: Adding an SPF Record in Hover

Hover-Specific Details

A few things worth knowing about Hover's DNS panel:

• The Hostname field uses @ for the root domain. If you want an SPF record for a subdomain like mail.yourdomain.com, enter just mail in the Hostname field.
• No quotation marks needed. Paste your SPF record value without wrapping it in quotes. Hover formats the DNS entry correctly on its own.
• Hover manages TTL for you. In most cases, Hover sets a reasonable default. If you can set it manually, 3600 seconds (one hour) is a good choice.

Editing an Existing SPF Record

If you already have an SPF record and need to add a new email service, do not create a second SPF record. Instead, find the existing TXT record starting with v=spf1 on the DNS tab, click the Edit button next to it, and modify the Value field. Add your new include before the ~all at the end, then save.

Example: Adding HubSpot to an existing Google Workspace SPF record.

Before:

v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all

After:

v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com include:spf.protection.outlook.com ~all

After editing, use the checker tool above to make sure your record is valid and stays within the 10 DNS lookup limit.

DNS Propagation Time

After saving your record in Hover, it does not appear everywhere instantly. DNS changes need time to propagate across the internet:

• Hover's own servers: Usually updated within a few minutes
• Most DNS resolvers: 30 minutes to 2 hours
• Full global propagation: Up to 48 hours in rare cases

Most of the time, your SPF record will be visible within an hour or two. If it does not show up after a few minutes, give it some time before troubleshooting further.

Hover Email Forwarding and SPF

Hover offers an email forwarding service. If you use it, be aware that forwarding can cause SPF failures on incoming messages — the receiving server checks SPF against the forwarding server's IP, which is not in the original sender's SPF record. This does not affect your outgoing email authentication. Learn more in our guide on SPF and email forwarding.

Common Mistakes

Creating a second SPF record instead of editing. This is the most common mistake. You can only have one SPF record per domain. If you need to add a new email service, edit the existing record to include it.

Using third-party nameservers without realizing it. If you have changed your nameservers to point to another DNS provider (like Cloudflare), the DNS records you add in Hover will have no effect. Check your nameserver settings under the Overview tab to make sure Hover's nameservers are active.

Entering the full domain in the Hostname field. Enter @ for your root domain, not yourdomain.com. Entering the full domain may create the record on an incorrect subdomain.

Forgetting the ~all or -all at the end. Every SPF record needs an all mechanism that specifies what happens to email from unlisted senders.

Complete Your Email Authentication

SPF is one part of email authentication. For the best deliverability and protection against spoofing, you should also set up:

• DKIM — Adds a cryptographic signature to your emails. Check your DKIM setup with DKIM Test.
• DMARC — Tells receiving servers what to do when SPF or DKIM fail. Check yours with DMARC Record Checker.

Setting up all three gives you the strongest email authentication. You can verify your complete setup with the Email Deliverability Checker.

References

• RFC 7208: Sender Policy Framework (SPF) — The current SPF specification
• Hover: Managing DNS records — Official Hover DNS documentation