3 Steps to Quickly Validate Your Office 365 SPF Records

Fresent
1 min readSep 19, 2023

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You went through the work of creating SPF records to lock down Office 365 email. But how do you know your SPF records are properly configured? Validating SPF records is an important next step, if you maintain your email server or run an agency.

Here is a quick 3-step process for confirming your Office 365 SPF records are working correctly:

  1. Check Office 365 Admin Center

In the Office 365 admin center under Setup > Domains, your SPF record status should show as “Valid” and “Correct” in green text. If you see errors, your syntax needs fixing.

2. Use Online SPF Validation Tools

Tools like MXToolbox, Microsoft’s SPF Record Tester, or SlimDomain parse your full SPF record and highlight any issues. They provide in-depth analysis on correct formatting.

3. Review DMARC Reports

Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance (DMARC) can indicate email failures caused by SPF misconfiguration. Monitor DMARC reports.

With valid SPF records, you can stop spoofers from impersonating your domain. Follow these tips to check your SPF records and resolve any errors that could impact Office 365 email security.

For an in-depth guide on validating your Office 365 SPF records,

see: Configure Office 365 SPF Record

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