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Which DNS record type holds a domain's SPF policy for fighting spoofed email?

TXT. SPF records are published as DNS TXT records.

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  1. MX
  2. CNAME
  3. TXT ✔

Why: SPF (Sender Policy Framework) policies are published in a TXT record. Receivers look there to see which servers may send mail for the domain. MX only says where mail is delivered.

Huh, didn't know that: RFC 7208 allows SPF records to be published as the TXT type only.

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SPF is the guest list at the door of your inbox.
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References

Answer: TXT. SPF (Sender Policy Framework) policies are published in a TXT record. Receivers look there to see which servers may send mail for the domain. MX only says where mail is delivered.

  1. RFC 7208 www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc7208
    SPF records MUST be published as a DNS TXT (type 16) Resource Record (RR) [RFC1035] only.
    Checked 2026-10-10.

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