Issue symptoms

After adding the external support address to Zendesk Support, the email address isn't verified. I see the error message: Forwarding check failed.

Resolution steps

Verify that the forwarding rules within your email domain are set up correctly. The verification error is caused by a ping that is sent from your Support account to the linked support address. If forwarding is set up correctly, the ping returns to the account. For more information on forwarding your email to Zendesk, see the article: Forwarding incoming email to Zendesk Support.

If the forwarding is set up correctly in your account, but you receive an error for the SPF record check, make sure that there is an SPF record set up for that address.

The SPF record is not required for Zendesk to send outgoing notifications. The SPF record allows Zendesk to send emails from your domain. In the absence of an SPF record, the email will show as originating from Zendesk. For more information, see the article Allowing Zendesk to send email on behalf of your email domain. 

If the error message persists after completing the steps above, contact your email administrator or email provider for further assistance.

If you would like to reevaluate your email setup and start over, click on the button below to navigate to our in product guide.

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Why is my external support address not verified? Why does my email address show "Forwarding check failed"? Why am I getting an email verification error?

This error occurs because Zendesk Support sends a ping from your account to the linked support address. If you set up your forwarding rules correctly within your email domain, the ping returns to the account and verifies the address.

How do I fix a "Forwarding check failed" error? How do I verify my external support email address?

  1. Verify that the forwarding rules within your email domain are set up correctly.
  2. Contact your email administrator or email provider for further assistance if the error message persists.
  3. Click on Go to my account to use the in-product guide if you want to reevaluate your email setup and start over.

Why am I getting an error for the SPF record check? Can I send outgoing notifications without an SPF record? What does an SPF record do?

Zendesk does not require an SPF record to send outgoing notifications. The SPF record allows Zendesk to send emails from your domain. In the absence of an SPF record, the email shows as originating from Zendesk. If you receive an error for the SPF record check while forwarding functions correctly, make sure that there is an SPF record set up for that address.

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