SPF, DKIM and DMARC for ActiveCampaign

Short answer: ActiveCampaign mail passes Gmail, Yahoo and Microsoft checks when you turn on DKIM with your own domain and publish a DMARC record at _dmarc (start with p=none). The exact records and clicks are below.

SPF—Not needed on your root domain: the Mailserver Domain CNAME lets ActiveCampaign publish SPF on a subdomain it bounces to, so SPF passes and aligns there. Don't add a second v=spf1 record.
DKIMCNAME / TXTTwo CNAME records: acdkim1._domainkey → dkim.acdkim1.acems1.com and acdkim2._domainkey → dkim.acdkim2.acems1.com, plus the Mailserver Domain CNAME your account shows.
DMARCTXT at _dmarc
v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:dmarc@yourdomain.com
Start with p=none and a mailbox you read, or a free report address that turns the reports into a dashboard; build your own.

Step by step

  1. In ActiveCampaign click Settings → Advanced → Sending Domain and add your domain.
  2. Choose Configure Domain if it supports your DNS host (it adds the records for you), or Set up manually.
  3. Manual: add the two DKIM CNAMEs, the Mailserver Domain CNAME and the DMARC record exactly as the table shows.
  4. Back in Sending Domains, open the domain menu and click Recheck Authentication. Allow up to 24 hours.

Mistakes that break it

Check that it worked

After the fix, send a test email to see SPF, DKIM and DMARC pass on a real message, then keep an eye on it: free DMARC monitoring shows every service that sends mail as your domain and which ones fail, in plain English.

Rather not touch DNS? I set up SPF, DKIM and DMARC without breaking your other senders, with a before/after report.

Get it fixed on Fiverr

Prefer to do it yourself? Get the step-by-step Fix Kit ($15) – 28-page guide, checklist, 20+ providers.

Paying more every month as your list grows? listmonk is free, open-source newsletter software. I install it on your own server with Amazon SES (about $0.10 per 1,000 emails), set up SPF, DKIM and DMARC, and move your subscribers over.

Self-host your newsletter on Fiverr

Prefer to do it yourself? Listmonk Self-Hosting Kit ($19): one-command installer and a 12-page guide.

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