Email Deliverability Checker: Test and Improve Your Email Delivery
Test your domain's email deliverability by checking SPF, DKIM, DMARC, MX records, and blacklist status in one scan. Get specific fix recommendations for every issue found.
Email Deliverability Checker: Test and Improve Your Email Delivery
An email deliverability checker tests whether your domain's DNS configuration is set up correctly for email. Poor configuration is the most common reason emails land in spam — and it is entirely fixable once you know what is wrong.
How to Check Email Deliverability
- Go to Tools → Email Deliverability Tester.
- Enter your domain name (e.g., example.com).
- Enter your DKIM selector if you know it (find it in your email provider's settings — common values: google, selector1, k1, mail).
- Click Test.
- Review results for SPF, DKIM, DMARC, and MX.
What Gets Tested
SPF (Sender Policy Framework)
SPF is a TXT record at your domain root listing which mail servers and services are authorized to send email from your domain.
What the checker verifies:
- Does an SPF record exist?
- Is the syntax correct?
- Does it include your email provider?
- Are there too many DNS lookups? (SPF is limited to 10)
- Is the policy strict enough (~all vs -all)?
Pass: v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all Fail: No TXT record starting with v=spf1 found
DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail)
DKIM adds a cryptographic signature to outbound emails. The receiving server verifies the signature using a public key in your DNS.
What the checker verifies:
- Does the DKIM TXT record exist at the specified selector?
- Is the public key valid and properly formatted?
- Is the key size adequate? (2048-bit recommended, 1024-bit is minimum)
Pass: Valid TXT record at selector._domainkey.yourdomain.com Fail: No record found at selector
DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication)
DMARC is a policy record at _dmarc.yourdomain.com that tells receiving servers what to do when SPF or DKIM fails.
What the checker verifies:
- Does a DMARC record exist?
- What policy is set? (none, quarantine, or reject)
- Is a reporting email configured?
Recommended progression:
- Start: p=none (monitor without blocking)
- After reviewing reports: p=quarantine (send failures to spam)
- Final: p=reject (reject failures outright)
MX Records
MX records specify which servers handle inbound email for your domain.
What the checker verifies:
- Do MX records exist?
- Do MX hostnames resolve to valid IPs?
- Is there redundancy? (Multiple MX records with different priorities)
Pass: At least one MX record pointing to a valid mail server Fail: No MX records, or MX hostnames do not resolve
Deliverability Score
The checker produces a score out of 100:
| Check | Points |
|---|---|
| SPF valid | 25 |
| DKIM valid | 25 |
| DMARC policy quarantine or reject | 25 |
| DMARC reporting configured | 10 |
| Multiple MX records | 15 |
Score under 75: Significant deliverability risk — emails likely landing in spam. Score 75-90: Good configuration, minor improvements available. Score 90+: Excellent — fully configured for maximum deliverability.
Common Fixes
No SPF record
Add a TXT record at your domain root. For Google Workspace: v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all
SPF too many DNS lookups
Use an SPF flattening tool to convert nested includes into a flat list of IP addresses.
No DKIM
Enable DKIM in your email provider's admin console. They will provide the TXT record to add to your DNS.
No DMARC
Add a TXT record at _dmarc.yourdomain.com: v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:[email protected]
No MX records
Add MX records per your email provider's documentation.
Ongoing Monitoring
Email configuration can drift — records get accidentally removed, providers change their required DNS setup. Set up automated email deliverability monitoring:
- Add your domain to ElasticDomain.
- Full domain scans include email record checks.
- Set up an alert for DNS changes (any change to TXT records containing SPF/DKIM/DMARC values or to MX records triggers an alert).
Catching a broken SPF record the same day it breaks saves you from days of missed emails.