Record Formatting

The value of a DMARC always starts with "v=DMARC1" and then contains a semicolon delimited list of commands. It will look something like this:

v=DMARC1; p=reject; rua=mailto:admin@example.com; ruf=mailto:admin@example.com; fo=1

Commands:

p=<value>
Values of "reject", "quarantine" and "none" are supported. Use "none" during setup to receive reports without blocking any email delivery. Once you are confident that everything is setup correctly, increase the level. A value of "quarantine" means that mail that doesn't validate will likely end up in the spam folder. A value of "reject" means that mail that doesn't pass will be rejected. It won't even make it into the user's spam folder.

rua=mailto:<email address>
The email address where aggregate reports will be sent in XML format.

ruf=mailto:<email address>
The email address where individual failure reports will be sent in XML format. Most email providers have stopped sending failure reports.

fo=<integer>
This specifies when you want to receive a failure report. A value of 1 means a report will be sent if either SPF or DKIM fails alignment. There are other values, but since most email providers have stopped sending failure reports it doesn't really matter.

This test will make sure that the DMARC record is formatted correctly and will report any errors it finds.

To learn more about DMARC and other email authentication mechanisms, please read our article on Best Practices for Sending Email.