SPF Record Troubleshooting Guide

Something is wrong with your SPF record. Maybe your emails are landing in spam. Maybe a monitoring tool flagged an error. Maybe you're staring at a bounce message that says "SPF check failed" and you have no idea why.

This guide is structured as a problem-solution reference. Find your specific issue below, understand what's causing it, and follow the steps to fix it.

Start Here: Diagnose the Problem

Before diving into specific fixes, run a quick diagnostic:

Problem: "No SPF Record Found"

Symptoms

• SPF lookup tools report "No SPF record found" or "SPF record missing"
• Email headers show spf=none
• DMARC reports show SPF result as "none" for your domain

Causes

The record doesn't exist. You haven't published an SPF TXT record for your domain yet.

Wrong record type. You added the SPF record as the wrong DNS record type. SPF records must be TXT records. Some older DNS interfaces still show an "SPF" record type — this is deprecated and not recognized by modern mail servers.

Wrong domain. You added the record to a subdomain instead of the root domain, or to the wrong domain entirely.

Propagation delay. You just added the record and DNS hasn't propagated yet.

How to Fix

Problem: "Multiple SPF Records Found"

Symptoms

• SPF checker reports "Multiple SPF records" or "Duplicate SPF records"
• Email headers show spf=permerror
• Inconsistent SPF results (sometimes pass, sometimes fail)

Cause

Your domain has two or more TXT records that start with v=spf1. This is a fatal error — RFC 7208 specifies that a domain must have exactly one SPF record. When multiple exist, the SPF check returns permerror and authentication fails for every email.

This usually happens when different people or departments add their own SPF records without checking what already exists.

How to Fix

Problem: "Too Many DNS Lookups"

Symptoms

• SPF checker reports "Too many DNS lookups" or "Exceeds 10 lookup limit"
• Email headers show spf=permerror
• SPF evaluation fails even though all your includes are correct

Cause

The SPF specification limits evaluation to 10 DNS lookups. Every include, a, mx, exists, and redirect mechanism counts toward this limit — including those nested inside included records. When the limit is exceeded, SPF returns permerror and is treated as a failure.

How to Fix

For a deep dive, see our SPF 10 DNS Lookup Limit article.

Problem: "SPF Softfail/Fail for Legitimate Email"

Symptoms

• Email headers show spf=softfail or spf=fail for email you actually sent
• Legitimate email landing in spam
• DMARC reports show SPF failures from IP addresses you recognize

Cause

A legitimate sending source isn't listed in your SPF record. The receiving server checks the sending IP against your SPF record, doesn't find a match, and returns softfail (with ~all) or fail (with -all).

Common culprits:

• A new email service was added but nobody updated the SPF record
• A service changed its sending IPs and you're using hardcoded ip4 instead of their include
• Your web server sends transactional email (password resets, order confirmations) but its IP isn't in the SPF record
• A CRM or helpdesk tool was configured to send email as your domain

How to Fix

Problem: "SPF Permerror" (Syntax Error)

Symptoms

• SPF checker reports "Permerror" or "Syntax error"
• Email headers show spf=permerror
• All email from your domain fails SPF regardless of sender

Cause

Your SPF record has a syntax error that makes it unparseable. Common syntax mistakes include:

• Missing v=spf1 prefix
• Typos in mechanism names (inclue instead of include)
• Semicolons or commas instead of spaces between mechanisms
• Extra spaces or special characters
• Invalid IP addresses or CIDR notation
• Missing colon after mechanism names (include_spf.google.com instead of include:_spf.google.com)

How to Fix

Here are the most common syntax errors and their fixes:

# WRONG: Missing v=spf1 prefix
include:_spf.google.com -all

# CORRECT
v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com -all

# WRONG: Semicolons instead of spaces
v=spf1;include:_spf.google.com;-all

# CORRECT
v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com -all

# WRONG: Typo in mechanism name
v=spf1 inclde:_spf.google.com -all

# CORRECT
v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com -all

# WRONG: Missing colon after include
v=spf1 include _spf.google.com -all

# CORRECT
v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com -all

Problem: "SPF Temperror"

Symptoms

• Email headers show spf=temperror
• Intermittent SPF failures (works sometimes, fails sometimes)
• DMARC reports show occasional temperror results

Cause

A DNS timeout occurred during SPF evaluation. The receiving server tried to look up your SPF record (or one of the included domains) and the DNS query timed out or failed.

This is usually not your fault. Temperrors are caused by:

• Temporary DNS server outages (yours or an included domain's)
• Network congestion between the receiving server and DNS
• DNS server overload during high-traffic periods

How to Fix

Temperrors are almost always transient. However, if they're persistent:

• Check your DNS provider's status page for outages
• Reduce nested includes to minimize the number of DNS queries needed during evaluation
• Use a reliable DNS provider — if your DNS is hosted on a shared server with frequent issues, consider migrating to Cloudflare, Route 53, or Google Cloud DNS
• Monitor over time — occasional temperrors in DMARC reports are normal. Persistent temperrors indicate a DNS infrastructure problem

Problem: "Domain Not Found in SPF" (Wrong Include)

Symptoms

• SPF checker reports "void lookup" or "domain not found"
• An include points to a domain that doesn't have an SPF record
• Your SPF record approaches or exceeds the 2 void lookup limit

Cause

One of the include: domains in your SPF record doesn't exist or doesn't have its own SPF TXT record. This triggers a "void lookup" — a DNS query that returns nothing. RFC 7208 limits you to 2 void lookups before returning permerror.

Common reasons:

• Typo in the include domain (include:_spf.goggle.com instead of _spf.google.com)
• The service changed their SPF include domain and you have the old one
• The service was discontinued and their DNS records were removed
• You copied an include from an outdated guide or forum post

How to Fix

Problem: SPF Record Too Long

Symptoms

• DNS provider rejects the record or truncates it
• SPF checker shows the record is incomplete or cut off
• The record works in some DNS tools but not others

Cause

DNS TXT records have a 255-character limit per string. If your SPF record exceeds 255 characters, it needs to be split into multiple strings within a single TXT record. Most DNS providers handle this automatically, but some don't.

The practical limit for the entire SPF record (all strings concatenated) is around 450-500 characters. Beyond that, you're hitting real DNS constraints.

How to Fix

• If your provider doesn't auto-split: Manually split the record into multiple strings of 255 characters or fewer. The DNS protocol concatenates them automatically:

  "v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com include:sendgrid.net " "include:spf.mandrillapp.com include:mail.zendesk.com -all"
  

• If the total record is too long: You have too many mechanisms. Use subdomains to split sending services, replace includes with ip4 addresses, or consolidate providers. See the "Too Many DNS Lookups" section above — the solutions overlap.
• Switch to a provider that handles long records: Cloudflare and Route 53 handle string splitting automatically and support longer TXT records.

Problem: Changes Not Taking Effect

Symptoms

• You updated your SPF record but lookup tools still show the old one
• SPF results haven't changed after making a DNS edit
• Some resolvers show the new record but others show the old one

Cause

DNS propagation. After you change a DNS record, the change needs to propagate across the global network of DNS resolvers. This takes anywhere from a few minutes to 48 hours depending on your TTL settings.

How to Fix

• Wait. Most changes propagate within 1-4 hours.
• Check authoritative DNS directly to confirm the change was saved: query your specific nameserver rather than a public resolver.
• Lower TTL before future changes. Set the TTL to 300 (5 minutes) before making changes, wait for the old TTL to expire, then make the change. See our SPF record propagation guide for the full process.
• Confirm the change was saved. Some DNS dashboards require clicking a separate "Save" or "Apply" button. Double-check that your change actually persisted.

Quick Reference: SPF Error Codes

When to Start Over

Sometimes the fastest fix is to rebuild your SPF record from scratch rather than patching an existing one. Consider starting over if:

• You have multiple overlapping syntax errors
• You're not sure which includes are still needed
• The record has been modified by multiple people over time and nobody documented the changes
• You inherited a domain with an SPF record you don't understand

Use SPF Creator to generate a clean record based on your current sending services. Then verify it with SPF Record Check before publishing.

Make sure your email authentication is complete with DKIM and DMARC alongside your SPF record. All three protocols work together to protect your domain.

Monitor Your New SPF Record

You've created your SPF record — now make sure it keeps working. The Email Deliverability Suite watches your SPF, DKIM, DMARC, and MX records daily and alerts you when something breaks.