Is DMARC record really as simple as it sounds?

Shopify Discussion
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Topic summary

Urgent requirement: merchants must publish a DMARC record by Feb 1, 2024 to satisfy Google/Yahoo. DMARC (policy telling receivers how to handle unauthenticated mail) relies on SPF (authorized sending servers) and DKIM (cryptographic signature) being set first.

Experiences diverge:

  • Some added a simple TXT record (_dmarc.domain) with p=none and an rua address, verified via tools (dmarcian). Others set p=quarantine immediately.
  • Several report DMARC passing but SPF/DKIM failing for some senders (e.g., Mailchimp/Klaviyo/Microsoft 365/Shopify mailer). One user “fixed” SPF checks by adding include:shops.shopify.com, though this conflicted with later guidance.

Latest guidance from Shopify: ensure the 4 CNAME “authenticate” records are added; this creates a mailer subdomain (e.g., mailer123.yourdomain.com) whose SPF Shopify manages, so no extra SPF changes are needed for Shopify on your root domain. You still must configure SPF/DKIM for other providers (Google Workspace, Klaviyo, Mailchimp, etc.).

Recommended approach:

  • Start with p=none + rua to collect reports; analyze via tools (EasyDMARC/dmarcian), then phase to quarantine/reject.
  • Create a dedicated reports mailbox.

Open issues: ongoing SPF fails tied to mailer.shopify.com, DNS host support confusion, Klaviyo subdomain/CNAME conflicts, and how to interpret reports. No final resolution; several users still seeking expert help.

Summarized with AI on December 20. AI used: gpt-5.
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@juenology Shopify said the deadline was Feb 1, but (just another in the long list of bad surprises from Shopify) they replaced our domain authenticated “from” address today, Jan 24, instead of sticking to the the Feb 1 deadline they’ve been telling us and everybody. So now we’re scrambling to add DMARC (which can’t be done before 48+ hours verifying DKIM and SPF…).

Another unsurprising bad surprise from Shopify: support pages on this are lacking, to say the least, and chatting with “support” is only fruitless and frustrating.

Can someone from Shopify confirm that this is what we need to include in SPF record in order to be able to send emails from our already authenticated domain in shopify as well as thru GoogleWorkspace?

v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com include:shops.shopify.com ~all

https://community.shopify.com/topic/2367825