No SPF Record Found: What It Means and How to Fix It
Getting a 'no SPF record found' error? Learn why your domain is missing an SPF record and how to create one step by step.
Last updated: 2026-04-24
If you've run a check on your domain and received a "No SPF Record Found" message, you're not alone. It's one of the most common email authentication issues, and it means that receiving email servers have no way to verify whether emails sent from your domain are legitimate. The good news is that it's straightforward to fix.
This guide walks you through what the error means, why it happens, what it's doing to your email deliverability, and exactly how to create your first SPF record.
What Does "No SPF Record Found" Mean?
Every domain can publish an SPF (Sender Policy Framework) record in its DNS settings, as defined in RFC 7208. This record is a simple text entry that lists which mail servers are allowed to send email on behalf of your domain. When a receiving server gets an email claiming to be from your domain, it checks your SPF record to see if the sending server is on the approved list.
When there's no SPF record at all, the receiving server returns a result of none (RFC 7208 Section 2.6.1). It has no information to work with. It can't confirm whether the email is legitimate or spoofed.
No SPF record means no protection
Without an SPF record, anyone can send emails pretending to be from your domain. Spammers and phishers regularly target domains without SPF because there's nothing stopping them from impersonating you.
Why Your Domain Has No SPF Record
There are several common reasons why a domain might be missing its SPF record.
It was never created. This is the most frequent cause. Many people register a domain and set up email without realizing that SPF needs to be configured separately. Your email might work fine without it — the problem is that deliverability suffers silently.
The record was accidentally deleted. DNS changes happen during domain migrations, hosting switches, or website redesigns. It's easy for a TXT record to get removed by accident, especially if someone unfamiliar with DNS is making changes.
It's published on the wrong domain. If your email address is you@yourdomain.com, the SPF record needs to be on yourdomain.com — not www.yourdomain.com or a subdomain. A record on the wrong domain is the same as no record at all.
It's using the wrong record type. SPF records must be published as TXT records. There was once a dedicated SPF record type (type 99), but it was deprecated by RFC 7208. If your SPF is published as the old type, most servers won't find it.
DNS hasn't propagated yet. If you just added an SPF record, it can take up to 48 hours (though usually 1-4 hours) for DNS changes to propagate worldwide. During this window, some servers may still see no record.
Check your domain right now to see if an SPF record exists:
How a Missing SPF Record Hurts Your Email
You might think that if your emails are still being delivered, a missing SPF record isn't a problem. But the impact is more subtle than outright rejection.
Emails land in spam more often. Major providers like Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo use SPF as one of several signals when deciding where to place your email. Without it, your messages are more likely to end up in the junk folder.
Your domain is vulnerable to spoofing. Without SPF, there's nothing stopping a bad actor from sending emails that appear to come from your domain. This can damage your reputation and even result in your domain being blacklisted.
DMARC can't work without SPF or DKIM. DMARC relies on either SPF or DKIM passing and aligning with your From domain. If you have no SPF record and no DKIM signing, DMARC will always fail. Check your DMARC setup at DMARC Record Checker.
Business email gets flagged. If you're sending invoices, proposals, or customer communications, a missing SPF record can cause important messages to disappear into spam. Your recipients may never see them.
How to Create Your First SPF Record
Creating an SPF record is a one-time DNS change. Here's how to do it, even if you've never edited a DNS record before.
Identify your email sending services
Make a list of every service that sends email from your domain. Common examples include your email hosting provider (Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Zoho), marketing tools (Mailchimp, HubSpot), and transactional email services (SendGrid, Amazon SES). Don't forget your website — if it sends form notifications, that server may need to be included too.
Find each service's SPF include
Each email service provides an SPF include statement in their documentation. For example, Google Workspace uses include:_spf.google.com and Microsoft 365 uses include:spf.protection.outlook.com. Look up the correct include for each service you use.
Build your SPF record
Combine everything into a single TXT record. Start with v=spf1, add each include, and end with ~all. For example, if you use Google Workspace and Mailchimp:
v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com include:servers.mcsv.net ~all
If you need help building the record, SPF Creator can generate the correct syntax based on your services.
Log into your DNS provider
Go to wherever you manage your domain's DNS. This is typically your domain registrar (Namecheap, GoDaddy, Cloudflare) or your web hosting provider. Look for DNS settings, DNS zone management, or DNS records.
Add a new TXT record
Create a new TXT record with these settings: set the Host or Name field to @ (which represents your root domain), set the Type to TXT, and paste your SPF record into the Value field. Leave TTL at the default (usually 3600 or automatic).
Save and verify
Save your DNS changes and wait at least 15-30 minutes. Then use the checker above to confirm your SPF record is live and valid.
Things to Watch Out For
A few common pitfalls when creating your first SPF record:
| Mistake | What Goes Wrong |
|---|---|
| Creating two SPF records | Only one v=spf1 record is allowed per domain. Multiple records cause a PermError and SPF breaks entirely. See our guide on combining multiple providers. |
| Forgetting a sending service | Emails from that service will fail SPF, potentially landing in spam. |
| Using -all too early | Hard fail rejects unauthorized emails outright. Start with ~all (soft fail) until you're confident everything is configured. Learn more in our softfail vs hardfail guide. |
| Adding the record to the wrong domain | The SPF record must be on the exact domain in your email address, not a subdomain or www. |
Domains that don't send email need SPF too
If you own a domain but don't use it for email, publish v=spf1 -all to tell the world that no server is authorized to send email from it. This prevents spammers from using your dormant domain.
After You Add SPF
Once your SPF record is in place, take two more steps to fully protect your domain. Set up DKIM to add cryptographic signatures to your outgoing mail — you can verify DKIM with a DKIM checker. Then configure DMARC to tell receiving servers how to handle emails that fail authentication. Check your overall email authentication health with the Email Deliverability Suite.
For a deeper understanding of how these protocols work together, read our guide on SPF, DKIM, and DMARC explained.
References
- RFC 7208: Sender Policy Framework (SPF) — The current SPF specification
- RFC 7208 Section 3.1: DNS Record Lookup — SPF records must be published as DNS TXT records
Monitor Your SPF Records
Fixing a missing SPF record is a great start, but DNS records can disappear again — during hosting migrations, domain transfers, or accidental edits. Ongoing monitoring ensures you catch problems before they impact your email delivery.
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