Solving SPF Conflicts: How to Merge Your Existing Records with Ours

Audience:

IT Administrators / DNS Managers Purpose: To resolve "PermErrors" caused by multiple SPF records and authorize our booking system to send email alongside your existing corporate mail.

The Context

The Sender Policy Framework (SPF) is a DNS record that lists every server authorized to send email for your domain.

The Golden Rule of SPF: A domain MUST have only one SPF record.

A common mistake occurs when a new record is created for our booking system while an existing record (for Outlook or Gmail) is left alone. Having two separate v=spf1 TXT records breaks the protocol, causing receiving servers to invalidate both records and block your emails.

The Problem: Two Separate Records (Incorrect)

If your DNS looks like this, your email delivery will fail:

  • Record 1: v=spf1 include:spf.protection.outlook.com -all (Your Office 365)

  • Record 2: v=spf1 include:spf.brevo.com -all (Our System)

The Solution: Merging into a Single Record

You must edit your existing SPF record to include our mechanism. Do not create a new one.

1. If you use Microsoft 365 (Outlook): Modify your existing record to look like this:

v=spf1 include:spf.protection.outlook.com include:spf.brevo.com -all

2. If you use Google Workspace: Modify your existing record to look like this:

v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com include:spf.brevo.com -all

3. If you use a local Danish host (e.g., UnoEuro/Simply, DanDomain): You may see an include for their servers. Simply append our include before the -all or ~all tag:

v=spf1 include:s.simply.com include:spf.brevo.com -all

Critical Syntax Notes

  • Spaces: Ensure there is a single space between each include: statement.

  • The Ending: The record must always end with ~all (Soft Fail) or -all (Hard Fail). Do not put include: after the all tag.

  • Lookup Limits: SPF allows for a maximum of 10 DNS lookups. If your organization uses many different SaaS tools, verify you haven't exceeded this limit using an SPF validator tool.