---
title: "How do you receive DMARC reports on external email addresses? | DuoCircle"
description: "How do you receive DMARC reports on external email addresses?"
image: "https://www.duocircle.com/images/og-default.png"
canonical: "https://www.duocircle.com/blog/dmarc/how-do-you-receive-dmarc-reports-on-external-email-addresses/"
---

Quick Answer

To receive DMARC aggregate (rua) or forensic (ruf) reports at an external domain, the reporting domain must publish consent. The receiving server checks whether the address in rua or ruf belongs to the same domain as the From header. If not, it issues a DNS query to the external domain looking for a TXT record at yourdomain.com.\_report.\_dmarc.externaldomain.com containing v=DMARC1\. If that record exists, reports are sent; if not, the receiving server suppresses them. This consent step prevents attackers from redirecting forensic data to mailboxes they control. A wildcard DNS record can authorize any source domain at once but is not recommended because it removes the filter that consent provides. Temporary DNS timeouts usually clear themselves; persistent failures need DNS investigation.

How do you receive DMARC reports on external email addresses?

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![email addresses](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2024/09/spf-record-3145.jpg) 

While most domain owners prefer receiving [DMARC aggregate and forensic reports](/resources/dmarc-aggregate-report) on internal email addresses, some want to have them in external inboxes. Internal email addresses refer to those belonging to the same domain for which the [DMARC record](/resources/create-dmarc-records) is created. For example, if your organization’s domain is example.com, then an **internal domain email address** would be something like [employee@example.com](mailto:employee@example.com). On the other hand, external email addresses are the ones not belonging to that domain. For example, [department@otherdomain.com](mailto:department@otherdomain.com).

Some parties opt to receive reports on a separate dedicated domain so that their **primary inboxes** are not flooded with **frequent reporting emails**. 

To receive reports on external email addresses, a small verification process is required. Let’s see how that’s done. 

## Understanding the external domain verification process

To receive reports on an external email address, consent is required to verify the agreement. This also ensures [threat actors](https://thehackernews.com/2024/07/tag-100-new-threat-actor-uses-open.html) don’t get the chance to divert the failure reports to an **email account** in their control; otherwise, they can send unauthorized and unsolicited [phishing emails](https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/phishing-emails-abuse-windows-search-protocol-to-push-malicious-scripts/) from your domain, and you won’t even be notified through aggregate and forensic reports.

The process begins when the recipient’s server receives an email from your domain and checks if the email address entered next to the **rua and ruf tags** is the same as the sender’s domain. If they differ, it searches if verified consent has been given to send the failure reports to the external email address. The verification is done by sending [DNS queries](https://bunny.net/academy/dns/what-is-a-dns-and-recursive-query/) to the external domain. 

Servers will send DMARC reports if the setup is correct. If not, the reports are not sent until the email addresses in the DMARC record are updated. This helps ensure that only **authorized users receive reports**, especially those that include [sensitive information](https://www.cpomagazine.com/cyber-security/third-party-data-breach-hits-bank-of-america-at-least-57000-records-of-sensitive-personal-information-exposed/).

[![unsolicited phishing emails](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2024/09/office-365-tenant-migration-tool.jpg)](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2024/09/office-365-tenant-migration-tool.jpg)

Implementing [DuoCircle](/) can enhance your management of these reports, making the process smoother and more efficient.

If you encounter a **temporary DNS timeout** or similar issues, don’t worry, they usually resolve themselves. However, if the problem persists, it’s best to consult a technical expert.

If the external domain verification process fails to obtain consent from a **trusted external domain**, you can resolve this by publishing a [TXT record](https://www.digicert.com/faq/dns/what-is-a-txt-record) in that domain’s DNS. This will confirm consent on behalf of the external email address.

## Wildcard Method

This is an alternative method to the external verification process, which is mostly used when a response from an unauthorized external [email address](/email-hosting/finding-email-addresses-for-business-professionals/) is not received. _A wildcard record handles DNS requests for subdomains that have yet to be specifically designed_. It’s created by placing an asterisk or ‘\*’ at the beginning of a domain name, allowing all [subdomains](https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/hijacked-subdomains-of-major-brands-used-in-massive-spam-campaign/) to share the same content through a **single DNS entry**.

But we don’t encourage the use of this method as it tends to impact your website’s SEO performance. Also, there isn’t a **mechanism to filter reports**, which allows [bad actors](https://www.cyberdefensemagazine.com/how-bad-actors/) to send spam emails.

No matter where you choose to receive the reports, ensure you make the best use of them. They give you valuable insights into how your **email domain** is being used (or rather exploited).

## Topics

DMARCemail security 

![Brad Slavin](https://media.mailhop.org/dmarcreport/images/team/brad-slavin.jpg) 

Brad Slavin 

General Manager

General Manager at DuoCircle. Product strategy and commercial lead across the email security portfolio.

## Secure your email infrastructure

Protect, authenticate, and deliver. Contact our team to find the right solution.

[Contact Sales](/contact/) [Explore Products](/products/) 

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