How To Avoid SPF Validation Error Office 36

An SPF validation error Office 365 appears when the email validation at the sender’s domain fails. When such an ‘SPF validation failed’ error situation occurs, the first step to take is an Exchange SPF check.

spf validation failed

SPF Check Path

The path for the check is as follows

Exchange Admin Center > Protection > Spam Filter > Double Click Default > Advanced Options > Set SPF record: Hard fail: Off

One of the prime reasons why Office 365 produces a validation error is an invalid SPF record. It can only be corrected by adding the SPF record following the rules recommended by Microsoft. SPF validation error Office 365 could appear in different forms. In some cases, it is seen as an ‘SPF validation unavailable’ error even when an SPF record is present. It can be solved by turning the Set SPF record: hard fail to off.

G Suite SPF Validation Error

Sometimes, issues could arise out of G Suite integration. An SPF check failed Gmail error would ideally be solved by looking at the SPF’s TXT record. A single domain will only have one TXT record for SPF. However, there may be multiple servers attached to a TXT record for a domain. Enabling SPF for the domain will solve the issue. If an ‘SPF validation failed’ circumstance appears again, the TXT record must be revisited for the particular domain.

invalid spf record
spf records

The Checklist

Usually, an SPF validation error Office 365 can be overcome by one or more of the following steps:

  • Updating the current SPF TXT record
  • Updating all external emails linked to all on-premises servers
  • Applying an enforcement rule for both incoming and outgoing emails
  • Setting the syntax of the TXT records correctly

Final words

SPF validation error Office 365 instances are common and can be overcome by the above-mentioned simple steps. You must ensure an error-free SPF record for every new domain that you set up to prevent spoofing attempts from malicious actors.

spf flattening

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