Creating a Custom TXT Record for multiple email services

Overview

In this help center article we go over how to create a custom SPF Record (TXT). 

MUST HAVE's

1. Admin Access to your organization's Domain Host

Why & What

If you use multiple applications to send email from your domain (via routing, relaying, etc), then you will need to make sure your TXT record includes those senders. Otherwise some recipient security will block and/or bounce back your emails.

So what is a TXT record, specifically a SPF? SPF is a Sender Policy Framework that acts as a caller id of sorts to help validate that your email was allowed to be sent from that particular application. For example, our current SPF record includes Google and Paubox because our emails are coming from those two servers. If we did not include Google and/or Paubox, then a lot of our outbound emails would NOT arrive. 

Below is the TXT record for a domain using G Suite and Paubox. The services that are identified to send email from this domain are in bold.

v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com include:_spf.paubox.com -all

Here is an example of a domain that might be using multiple applications like Sendgrid and Mail Chimp. The services that are identified to send email from this domain are in bold.

v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com include:spf.mandrillapp.com include:sendgrid.net include:_spf.paubox.com -all

Pro-Tip: A SPF record is limited to 10 includes. If you have to go over 10, please contact us and we can help you troubleshoot the best solution.

How

To create a custom record, as long as you do not have more than 10 records already, all you need to add is edit your existing record and insert Paubox's spf include. We have provided directions below.

1. Login to your Domain Host
2. Find Manage DNS
3. Identify your SPF record (usually of type TXT; begins with "v=spf1")
4. Select Edit
5. Copy and paste the Paubox include into the existing SPF record, at the end just before the "-all" or "~all" term. There should be a single space before the "include" and a single space after the ".com"
   • include:_spf.paubox.com
6.  Click Save

If you have any troubles please feel free to submit a ticket by emailing support@paubox.com.