How the New Email Uptime Monitoring Helps with Multiple SPF Records

SPF stands for Sender Policy Framework, and it is an email authentication protocol. The purpose of SPF is to check whether the email was sent from the person it says it is from. We showed how to create an SPF record and deploy it. And if you are reading this article you’ve probably encountered some issues with that. So let’s answer the burning question right away.

Can You Have Multiple SPF records?

No, you cannot. Well, technically, of course, you can, but you shouldn’t in your own interests as we’ll see in a minute.

But first, everything there is to know about Sender Policy Framework is defined by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) in RFC4408, and it clearly states in section 3.1.2.:

“A domain name MUST NOT have multiple records that would cause an authorization check to select more than one record.”

This means that if you look at your TXT SPF record, there is only one ‘v=spf1’ in the whole record. If you see more — Houston, we have a problem.

Multiple SPF records is a very common issue. Usually, it is caused by working with third-party organizations, when a company is asked to create an SPF record while they forget they already have one.

A Consequence of Multiple SPF Records

Unfortunately, as a consequence SPF authentication will return PermError, meaning fail. One unwanted consequence of failed authentication is a decreased deliverability. Even though the initial purpose of the SPF record was to protect emails from being used by scammers, it undeniably can influence email inbox placement.

Mailbox providers (especially large and reputable ones) strive to ensure their users are not bombarded with spam or scam letters. And SPF record is one of the authentication layers that legitimate senders use to identify themselves and prove that they don’t bring any cyber-risk to the recipient.

One way to minimize the consequences of multiple SPF PermError is to use SPF uptime monitoring, and I’ll explain why in a moment. But first, how do you run an SPF record check if you don’t know whether you have the issue?

Read the rest of the article on GlockApps blog.