Is It Possible to Have Multiple DMARC Records for a Single Domain?
If you manage emails for a domain, you may wonder if you can have more than one DMARC record. However, multiple records can defeat the purpose of DMARC itself.
A DMARC record should be placed at the root of your DNS records. DMARC uses the DNS TXT record to store its policy, and a DNS TXT record can only contain a single string of characters. Thus, a single domain cannot have multiple DMARC records. If you want to change your DMARC policy, you must update your DNS TXT record with the new policy.
What is a DMARC Record?
A DMARC record (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance record) is an email authentication protocol that helps prevent email spoofing, phishing, etc. By publishing a DMARC record, you can specify how email receivers should handle emails that do not appear authorized or genuine and do not pass the authentication check. It helps protect your email domain from being used for phishing or malicious activities by unauthorized entities.
What’s the Purpose Of DMARC Records?
DMARC is an email authentication protocol. It works by aligning the authentication policies of the sender (usually your domain) with the receiver. It helps DMARC verify that an email claiming to come from your domain is indeed from your domain and hasn’t been tampered with en route.
What is the Difference Between a DMARC Record and a DMARC Policy?
A DMARC record is a DNS record that specifies what to do with messages that fail authentication. A DMARC policy is a list of instructions you can fix in the DMARC record to tell receiving email servers what to do with messages that fail DMARC authentication.
What Are the Benefits of DMARC Records?
A DMARC record offers the following benefits for its users:
- It protects your brand identity.
- It secures your website from phishing and malware attacks.
- It helps you comply with privacy regulations.
- It improves your deliverability rates.
- It allows you to track your emails.
- It can bring down the magnitude of spam in your inbox.
Can You Have Multiple DMARC Records For a Single Domain?
A domain’s DNS comprises many different types of records, including an MX record, TXT record, and CNAME. One of these records is the DMARC record. The DMARC record is a TXT record that specifies how receivers should handle an email from a given domain. It is used to help protect against email phishing and spoofing.
A domain can only have one DMARC record. You cannot have multiple DMARC records for a single domain because it would create conflict and confusion. If a domain had multiple DMARC records, it would be difficult for receivers to know which was the correct one to use.
A DMARC record is used to verify the email sender’s identity concerning a particular domain. It is designed to streamline the email authentication process, and having multiple records for a single domain would undermine that purpose.
Additionally, multiple DMARC records could also lead to problems with email deliverability, as some email servers may not know which record to use when authenticating messages from your domain. Ultimately, sticking with a single DMARC record for your domain is the best option to avoid potential problems.
How to Monitor Your DMARC Record?
It is essential to monitor DMARC records to ensure that your email communications are not blocked or marked as spam. You can use various tools, such as DMARCReport, to monitor DMARC records.
This tool will help you see if your DMARC record is valid and if there are any issues with it. It will also help generate a DMARC report on your email activity, which can help troubleshoot any problems you find with your email communications.
How to Check if Your DMARC Record is Valid?
Again, you can use tools such as DMARCReport to check if your DMARC record is valid. The tool will also help you verify the syntax of your DMARC record and tell you if there are any errors.
Additionally, the tool will not only check the syntax of your record but also look for any common errors often made when configuring DMARC records. Once you have checked your DMARC record for errors, you can test it by sending test emails to several different addresses.
Final Words
In conclusion, a single domain cannot have multiple DMARC records because of the way DMARC works. DMARC uses the “From” header in an email to determine which domain’s DMARC record to use. Multiple DMARC records for a single domain will only cause confusion and may block emails or mark them as spam.
