SPF, DKIM, and DMARC authentication

SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are email authentication standards that help receiving mail servers verify that emails sent through phpList are legitimate and authorized by your domain. Configuring these records can improve email deliverability, strengthen your domain’s reputation, and help protect your brand from spoofing and phishing attempts.

What are SPF, DKIM, and DMARC?

SPF (Sender Policy Framework)

SPF tells receiving mail servers which servers are authorized to send email on behalf of your domain.

• Helps prevent unauthorized senders from using your domain.
• Reduces the likelihood of your emails being flagged as spam.
• Improves trust with receiving mail providers.

DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail)

DKIM adds a digital signature to each email sent from your domain.

• Confirms that the email was sent by an authorized sender.
• Verifies that the message has not been altered during delivery.
• Helps improve inbox placement and sender reputation.

DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance)

DMARC works together with SPF and DKIM to tell receiving mail servers how to handle emails that fail authentication checks.

• Provides additional protection against phishing and spoofing.
• Gives domain owners more control over how unauthenticated emails are handled.
• Can provide reporting data about email authentication activity for your domain.

How to Enable SPF, DKIM, and DMARC

SPF, DKIM, and DMARC authentication are available free of charge for all phpList.com Hosted account types.

To enable these authentication methods, please contact the phpList support team and provide the domain you use in your campaign “From” address (for example, example.com). Our team will provide the required DNS records and instructions for configuring SPF, DKIM, and DMARC on your domain. Once the records have been added, we can verify that everything has been configured correctly.