SPF for Brevo

Brevo (the platform formerly known as Sendinblue) is a popular email marketing and transactional email service used by thousands of small businesses. To make sure your Brevo emails reach the inbox instead of the spam folder, you need to set up SPF authentication for your domain.

For a comprehensive overview of SPF, see our complete SPF guide. This guide walks you through the process from start to finish — no technical background required.

The Brevo SPF Include Value

To authorize Brevo's servers to send email on behalf of your domain, you need to add this include to your SPF record (Brevo Help Center):

include:spf.brevo.com

That's the current include value for Brevo. If you're coming from older Sendinblue documentation, you may see references to include:spf.sendinblue.com — this older value may still work, but you should use spf.brevo.com for any new setup.

Sendinblue is now Brevo

Sendinblue rebranded to Brevo in 2023. If you're searching for "Sendinblue SPF setup," you're in the right place. The platform, features, and DNS configuration steps are the same — only the name changed.

Setting Up SPF for Brevo

If you don't have an existing SPF record for your domain, here's what to create:

v=spf1 include:spf.brevo.com ~all

If you also use Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, or another email provider, you'll combine them in a single record. For example, with Google Workspace:

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

Step-by-Step DNS Setup

Log into your DNS provider

Go to the website where you manage your domain's DNS records — see our guides for Cloudflare, GoDaddy, or Namecheap.

Check for an existing SPF record

Look for a TXT record that starts with v=spf1. If you find one, you'll edit it. If you don't find one, you'll create a new TXT record.

Add or update the SPF record

If you have no existing SPF record: Create a new TXT record with the value v=spf1 include:spf.brevo.com ~all

If you already have an SPF record: Add include:spf.brevo.com to your existing record, before the ~all or -all at the end. For example, change v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all to v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com include:spf.brevo.com ~all

Save your changes

Save the DNS record. Changes typically take 1-4 hours to propagate across the internet, though some DNS providers are faster.

Verify the record is published

Use the checker below to confirm your SPF record includes Brevo's servers.

Brevo's Full Domain Authentication

SPF is one part of Brevo's domain authentication process. For the best email deliverability, Brevo asks you to set up both SPF and DKIM together. Here's how the full process works in Brevo's dashboard:

Go to your Brevo account settings

Log into Brevo and navigate to Settings (the gear icon), then click on Senders, Domains & Dedicated IPs. Select the Domains tab.

Add your sending domain

Click "Add a domain" and enter the domain you want to send from (for example, yourdomain.com).

Get your DNS records from Brevo

Brevo will display the DNS records you need to add, including the SPF include value and DKIM CNAME records. Copy these carefully.

Add all records to your DNS

In your DNS provider, add the SPF include (as described above) and the DKIM CNAME records that Brevo provides. The DKIM records are unique to your account, so you must copy them from Brevo's dashboard.

Verify in Brevo

Go back to Brevo's domain settings and click the "Verify" button. Brevo will check your DNS records and confirm whether they're set up correctly.

Set up DKIM at the same time

While you're editing DNS records for SPF, go ahead and add Brevo's DKIM records too. Doing both at once saves you a trip back to your DNS provider and gives you stronger email authentication right away.

Adding Brevo to an Existing SPF Record

If you already send email through another provider, you need to add Brevo to your existing SPF record — not create a second one. Having two SPF records on the same domain causes a PermError that breaks email authentication entirely.

Before (Google Workspace only):

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

After (Google Workspace + Brevo):

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

Each include adds to your DNS lookup count. Brevo's include is relatively lightweight (1-2 lookups), but if you're using many email services, keep an eye on the 10 DNS lookup limit.

Common Brevo SPF Mistakes

Using the wrong include domain

Make sure you use exactly spf.brevo.com. Common errors include:

brevo.com (missing the spf subdomain)
include:brevo.com (wrong — needs spf.brevo.com)
spf.sendinblue.com (old name — use the current value)
mail.brevo.com (incorrect subdomain)

Creating a second SPF record

This is the most common mistake across all email services. Your domain can only have one SPF record. If you create a new TXT record instead of editing the existing one, you'll end up with two SPF records, which causes all SPF checks to fail.

Wrong (two separate records):

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

Correct (single combined record):

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

Forgetting to configure the sending domain in Brevo

Adding SPF to your DNS is only half the setup. You also need to add and verify your domain in Brevo's dashboard (Settings > Senders, Domains & Dedicated IPs). If you skip this step, Brevo may not use your domain as the sender, and SPF alignment won't work properly.

Not setting up DMARC

SPF and DKIM work best when paired with a DMARC policy. Without DMARC, receiving servers don't have clear instructions for what to do when authentication fails. Even a basic DMARC record in monitor mode (p=none) gives you valuable reporting about your email authentication.

Verifying Your Setup

After making your DNS changes and waiting for propagation, verify everything is working:

1. Use the SPF checker above. Enter your domain and confirm the record includes spf.brevo.com.

2. Check Brevo's verification status. In Brevo's domain settings, the verification status should show green checkmarks for both SPF and DKIM.

3. Send a test email. Send an email from Brevo to a Gmail account. Open it, click the three dots, then "Show original." Look for spf=pass in the authentication results.

If you need help generating your SPF record, SPF Creator can build the correct syntax. If you are using Brevo alongside other email providers, see our guide on SPF for multiple ESPs. For a comprehensive check of your entire email authentication setup, use the Email Deliverability Checker.

Monitor Your SPF Records

Checking once is good. Monitoring continuously is better. The Email Deliverability Suite watches your SPF, DKIM, DMARC, and MX records daily and alerts you when something breaks.

References

RFC 7208: Sender Policy Framework (SPF) — The current SPF specification
Brevo: Authenticate Your Domain — Official Brevo domain authentication guide

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SPF for Brevo: Setup Guide for Domain Authentication