SPF, DKIM and DMARC for Zendesk

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

SPF	TXT at `@`	v=spf1 include:mail.zendesk.com ~all Zendesk's own example ends in `-all`. Older includes (`smtp.zendesk.com`, `support.zendesk.com`) are outdated: replace them with this one. Combine with your other senders →
DKIM	CNAME / TXT	Two CNAME records: `zendesk1._domainkey` → `zendesk1._domainkey.zendesk.com` and `zendesk2._domainkey` → `zendesk2._domainkey.zendesk.com`. Zendesk rotates the keys behind them, so you never have to touch them again.
DMARC	TXT 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

Add include:mail.zendesk.com to your one SPF record at @, so Zendesk may send as your support address.
Add the two DKIM CNAME records.
Once they resolve, open Admin Center → Channels → Talk and email → Email and turn on Custom domain for DKIM.
Check each support address with See details → Verify DNS records; the green check can take up to 48 hours.
Publish DMARC at _dmarc with p=none and watch the reports before enforcing.

Mistakes that break it

Turning on the DKIM setting before the CNAME records exist makes Zendesk mail fail. Records first, switch second.
An SPF record allows at most 10 DNS lookups; remove includes of services you no longer use.
Zendesk can't change your DNS for you: the records go in at your DNS host or registrar.

Check that it worked

After the fix, 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) – 19-page guide, checklist, 20+ providers.

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