Issue symptoms

I set up an SPF record in Zendesk but the record doesn't validate. 

Resolution steps

A validation error can occur because your SPF record doesn't meet the necessary conditions to ensure Zendesk can send emails on your behalf. See below for a list of the necessary conditions:

  • The record contains include:mail.zendesk.com explicitly within the TXT record.
  • The SPF record is configured as a TXT record.
  • The support address is added to your Zendesk account as an external support address.
  • The record was published for longer than TTL (time to live) and successfully propagated.

If you confirmed that the conditions above are met, use a third-party tool to investigate your published SPF record. Any of these tools can display your published SPF records and notify you of errors after you enter your domain, such as domain.com:

  • MXtoolbox.com
  • Dmarcian.com
  • Kitterman SPF validation

For a list of the most common SPF errors with resolution steps, see the sections below:

  • Too Many DNS lookups - This error occurs when your number of DNS-querying mechanisms exceeds the limit of 10. For more information about too many DNS lookups, see the article: Dmarcian.com: Too many SPF lookups?
  • Multiple SPF records - To ensure your record is seen with all records, ensure you only have one record per domain. For more information about multiple SPF records, see the resource: Google's Help Center: multiple SPF records.
  • Type 99 (SPF type record) deprecation - The SPF specific type was deprecated in favor of using a TXT record for its type. Ensure that TXT-type DNS records are used. For more information about type 99 records, see the resource: Mxtoolbox.com: Type 99 Records
  • IP address use - The use of IP records to validate your SPF record is not supported as Zendesk rotates servers and IP addresses often. If using an SPF compression tool, exclude mail.zendesk.com, as it will not validate within your Support account.
  • Propagation issues - If you are unable to see include:mail.zendesk.com on your record using the tools above, reach out to your domain registrar (or DNS server provider) for further assistance, as they are the only ones able to resolve any propagation issues.
  • Flattened SPF record - Zendesk does not support adding its IPs to your SPF record, due to the fact that no address can be validated then. Any part of your SPF record that starts with a:, a, ip, or contains a visible IP address, is invalid.
    Note: The mx value is invalid as well.

For more information on the SPF record specification, see the resources below.

  • Why do I receive the error "DNS records are not set up correctly"?
  • Open SPF: FAQ
  • Server fault: Combine multiple SPF records into one
  • Dmarcian.com : Broken SPF record, what does it mean?
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