TXT Record Lookup

What are DNS TXT records used for?

• Email sender verification

  A Sender Policy Framework (SPF) is a type of TXT record that lists all servers authorized to send email from a domain, helping the receiving mail server verify the sender’s identity.

• Site verification

  Platforms like Google, Microsoft 365, various cloud providers, and many others require you to add a unique TXT record to prove that you control the domain.

• Ensuring email integrity and authenticity

  The DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) is another type of TXT record. It adds a digital signature to emails, which allows the recipient’s server to confirm that the message wasn’t altered in transit.

• Storing additional information

  TXT DNS records are often used by various software providers to store additional domain-related information, such as policy metadata or service configuration details.

• Handling SPF/DKIM failures

  A Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance (DMARC) is also a TXT record that tells the receiving server what to do with an email that fails SPF or DKIM checks and sends reports about SPF/DKIM failures to a specified email address.

• Showing company logos in email

  TXT records can be used to enable Brand Indicators for Message Identification (BIMI) and add the company logo to outgoing emails.

What is the impact of an incorrect or missing DNS TXT record?

• Increased risk of phishing and email spoofing attacks

  Without a proper DKIM record, SPF record, and DMARC policy in place, spammers can easily send malicious emails using your domain name. This puts your customers at risk and damages your brand's reputation by associating it with email spam and fraudulent activity.

• Failure to verify domain ownership for third-party services

  Cloud providers, marketing platforms, and many other services require you to verify domain ownership before you can use their features, and this is often done by adding a unique DNS TXT record to your DNS settings. If it is incorrect or missing, the service will not be able to confirm you own the domain.

• Poor email deliverability and reputation

  Email providers, such as Gmail and Outlook, rely on DNS TXT records (i.e., SPF and DMARC records) to verify the authenticity of emails. Without these records, or if they are configured incorrectly, your emails are more likely to get flagged as spam or rejected entirely.

• Technical errors and inconsistent behavior

  Small errors can have big consequences. A simple typo in an SPF record, such as a misplaced character or an extra space, will cause it to fail validation since the receiving servers will treat the record as if it doesn’t exist.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a DNS TXT record?

A TXT record is a type of DNS record that allows domain name owners to associate arbitrary text with their domain names that other Internet-connected systems and services can read. This text is most commonly used for domain ownership verification and email authentication.

What data points can a DNS TXT record contain?

This record can contain text strings in the value field, which can be any text the domain administrator wants to assign. This text string appears along with the record’s time-to-live (TTL) value.

Can a domain have multiple TXT records?

Yes, a single domain can have several TXT records. This is often necessary when using multiple services that require their own specific records for verification or authentication purposes. TXT Record Lookup returns all the TXT records it finds for a queried domain.

Why are TXT records important?

DNS TXT records allow different online services to trust and correctly interact with your domain. If a TXT record is configured incorrectly or missing when required, it can lead to various issues. For example, email authentication may fail, causing emails to be marked as spam. This can also prevent certain online services from verifying the domain, which may interfere with how they function.

What is the difference between SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records?

SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records are all TXT records for email authentication that serve different purposes. An SPF record tells the receiving mail server to query the domain’s authoritative name server and checks the sender's IP address to verify that an email came from an authorized server. DKIM uses a digital signature to confirm the email hasn't been altered in transit. Finally, DMARC is the policy layer that tells receiving mail servers how to handle the email if either SPF or DKIM checks fail.

How does your tool handle multiple DNS TXT records for a single domain?

Our TXT lookup tool provides a list of all DNS TXT records of a domain in one pop-up window.

Can I use this tool to find TXT records for any domain?

Yes. WhoisXML API tracks millions of domains across thousands of generic (gTLDs) and country-code TLDs (ccTLDs).

How can I check the other DNS records of a domain?

You may use DNS Lookup API, which returns DNS TXT records, A records, and 50 other DNS record types, or our lookup tool if you prefer a graphical user interface. We also have the free MX Record Lookup and CNAME Record Lookup tools to retrieve a domain name’s MX or CNAME records, respectively.