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Free Tools · Email & Deliverability

SPF Validator

Check your SPF record and count its DNS lookups against the limit of 10. Go over and your email can fail the check.

Enter a domain to validate
https://
✓ Live DNS lookup ✓ Counts the 10-lookup limit ✓ Results in seconds

What the SPF validator checks

  • Every mechanism

    Each include, ip4, ip6, a and mx entry in your record, read and explained.

  • Lookup count

    We follow every include and redirect and count the DNS lookups against the limit of 10.

  • Ending rule

    Whether your record ends in -all, ~all or ?all, and how strictly it treats unlisted senders.

SPF questions

Straight answers about your results.

What is SPF?

SPF is a DNS record that lists the servers allowed to send email for your domain. Mail servers check it to spot fake senders.

Why is there a limit of 10 lookups?

The SPF standard caps lookups at 10 to keep checks fast. Go over and the check fails, which can send your mail to spam.

Can I have more than one SPF record?

No. A domain must have exactly one SPF record. Two records make the check fail, so merge them into one.

Is the SPF validator free?

Yes. It’s free and there’s nothing to sign up for.

Still unsure? Ask a WordPress expert

Want your email records handled?

Your SPF records live in DNS, and we manage DNS for every site we host.