# Verify your domain for email (MX, SPF, DKIM, DMARC)

> Prove an email-only domain is yours, then add the mail records and check MX, SPF, DKIM and DMARC.

Source: https://veldhost.eu/docs/email-dns-verification

Last verified: 2026-11-12

An email-only domain (email here, website and DNS elsewhere) needs two things in its DNS before mail works: one TXT record that proves the domain is yours, and the mail records that send its mail to us. This article walks through both, and shows how to read the check on the domain's page.

If the domain is connected to one of your veldhost sites, see [create an email address on your domain](https://veldhost.eu/docs/create-a-mailbox) instead.

## Before you start

- You have added the domain under [Email](https://manage.veldhost.eu/portal/mail). See [the Email plan](https://veldhost.eu/docs/email-only-plan).
- You can sign in where the domain's DNS is managed: your registrar, your web host or a DNS service.
- Checking the record and creating mailboxes needs a role that can manage domains (see [roles and permissions](https://veldhost.eu/docs/roles-and-permissions)).

## 1. Prove the domain is yours

1. Open [Email](https://manage.veldhost.eu/portal/mail) and choose the domain. Its **Delivery** column says **Waiting for verification**.
2. Under **First, show us YOUR_DOMAIN is yours**, copy the record with the copy buttons:
   - **Type:** `TXT`
   - **Name:** `_veldhost-verify` (some DNS providers want the full name, `_veldhost-verify.YOUR_DOMAIN`)
   - **Value:** `veldhost-verify=` followed by your domain's own code
3. Add that record where you manage the domain's DNS. It changes nothing for your website or your current email.
4. Back in the portal, choose **I’ve added it — check now**.

When it works, the page says the domain is verified and you can create mailboxes. Billing for its mailboxes starts from this moment.

If the record is not visible yet, the page says so. DNS changes can take up to an hour to show. You do not have to keep clicking: we also check by ourselves, and the page shows when we last looked. Once the domain is verified, you can remove the TXT record.

## 2. Point the domain's mail at us

What you do depends on where the domain's DNS is.

**DNS at veldhost.** We publish the mail records ourselves when you create a mailbox. The **DNS records** panel then says **Published by veldhost**. There is one exception: if the domain's mail is still delivered somewhere else, we do not touch it, because mail would stop arriving there. Use a [mail move](https://veldhost.eu/docs/move-your-email) and we switch it on your word.

> **Caution:** changing the MX record moves all new mail for the domain to veldhost at once. Create the mailboxes first, and bring old mail across first with **Move existing mail first**.

**DNS somewhere else.** The **DNS records** panel beside the mailboxes lists what is **Needed for your mail to work**, with a copy button for each value:

- an **MX** record, which delivers your mail to us. Remove any other MX records at the same time.
- an **SPF** record (`TXT`), which says which servers may send mail as you. Keep **one** record starting `v=spf1`; if you already have one, the panel shows the merged value to use instead.
- a **DKIM** record (`TXT`), which signs your outgoing mail.

A record that replaces one you already have is marked **Replaces …**. Under **Worth adding too** you find optional records: a starting DMARC policy if the domain has none, and records that help calendars, contacts and mail apps find our server.

> **Tip:** Moving from another email provider? Create your mailboxes first, so nothing arrives before there is somewhere for it to go. To bring your old mail across before the switch, use **Move existing mail first** in the same panel.

Not sure how to add a record at your provider? [DNS records, explained simply](https://veldhost.eu/docs/dns-records-explained) covers the basics.

## 3. Check it worked

The **Delivery** figure at the top of the domain's page reads:

| It says | What it means |
|---|---|
| **Receiving mail** | The domain's MX points at veldhost, so its mail arrives here. |
| **Not receiving mail yet** | The MX does not point at us yet. Add the records above; resolvers can take up to an hour to catch up. |
| **Delivery not checked** | We could not read the domain's DNS just now. Refresh in a few minutes. |


The **Deliverability** section checks the four records that decide whether your mail is accepted elsewhere:

| Record | Type | Name |
|---|---|---|
| MX | MX | `@` |
| SPF | TXT | `@` |
| DKIM | TXT | `mail._domainkey` |
| DMARC | TXT | `_dmarc` |


Each row shows what public DNS answered (**Found**), what we expect (**Expected**, with a copy button) and a status: **Pass**, **Wrong value**, **Missing**, **Not known** (the lookup failed) or **Not checked yet**. These results come from a regular scheduled check (the time of the last one is at the top of the section); the MX row also follows the live delivery reading and says when it changed since that check. After you fix a record, the next check shows it.

[Email](https://manage.veldhost.eu/portal/mail) shows the same result for every domain as one mark in the **Delivery** column; hover over it for the detail.

## Related

- [The Email plan](https://veldhost.eu/docs/email-only-plan)
- [DNS records, explained simply](https://veldhost.eu/docs/dns-records-explained)
- [Move your email to veldhost](https://veldhost.eu/docs/move-your-email)
- [Move your DNS to veldhost](https://veldhost.eu/docs/move-your-dns-to-veldhost)