Microsoft started mandating the configuration of SPF, DKIM and DMARC

Question

Microsoft started mandating the configuration of SPF, DKIM and DMARC

Henry Waxman 0

I saw this issue on the issue, which applies to me, on self help forum. Does it still apply? Is this why I'm not receiving some emails?

Sep 4, 2025, 5:58 PM

Hello,

Starting May this year, Microsoft started mandating the configuration of SPF, DKIM and DMARC for high volume senders. See the blog post here: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoftdefenderforoffice365blog/strengthening-email-ecosystem-outlook%E2%80%99s-new-requirements-for-high%E2%80%90volume-senders/4399730

These days, many businesses don’t send emails directly from the company that hosts their domain. Instead, they often use third-party services .........................................

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2 answers

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Answer 1

EmilyS726 269.1K Independent Advisor

Microsoft is not the only one mandating this, a lot of email service providers are now mandating this.

It will be ONLY relevant to you if you have your own custom domain email address, you need to then configure these records to make sure your emails sent to outlook.com/hotmail.com users won't be rejected by Microsoft.

However if you are using outlook.com/hotmail.com address yourself, and you are not receiving some of the business emails, then it is on THEIR end that they need to make sure these records are set up correctly.

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Answer 2

Henry Waxman 0

I meant to say I saw this issue on the Self Help library

Henry Waxman 0 Reputation points

2026-09-16T17:35:06.3766667+00:00

It is relevant to me because I am not receiving the necessary emails that I depend on. Who decided that regular email senders won't come to my inbox?
EmilyS726 269.1K Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-09-16T17:36:52.18+00:00

Is it certain business's email you are not receiving?
Henry Waxman 0 Reputation points

2026-09-16T20:46:39.53+00:00

yes, several. #1, the apartment property manager's emails. #2, I missed my insurance renewal. #3, my lawyer's messages went into junk which I only noticed only by accident #4, my mentor's emails have not been received.
These are only a few. I could mention others. And yet, I am paying for this service as opposed to Gmail users that dont pay.
EmilyS726 269.1K Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-09-16T21:15:20.1233333+00:00

Could you ask either your apartment property manager or your mentor whether they received any bounce-back/non-delivery message when emailing you?

Are you using outlook.com or hotmail.com address?

Do you know your lawyer's email domain? That's the part after the @ sign.
Henry Waxman 0 Reputation points

2026-09-16T22:35:37.1066667+00:00

the lawyer? They all name their site after themselves as in JoeSmithLaw.com. The email would then be ******@JoeSmithLaw.com... that isn't the real name, just an example.
The apartment property manager said I put him on block. I didn't. But that remark was what caused me to look at this problem further.
I use outlook.com
EmilyS726 269.1K Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-09-16T22:45:53.4666667+00:00

Ok, if the lawyer is using his real name, then I don't want to know the domain.

You can go here https://dmarcian.com/domain-checker/, and put in his domain and see if there's any dmarc, dkim and spf issue with their domain.

I am not surprised that small business owners are not up to date when it comes to these records. You can check the apartment property's email address domain too.
Henry Waxman 0 Reputation points

2026-09-17T15:02:48.0566667+00:00

Emily, earlier you said MSN is not the only one mandating the changes. Which other services are making these changes?
Henry Waxman 0 Reputation points

2026-09-17T16:14:04.5+00:00

the apartment property manager uses appfolio.com. I checked the domain on the Dmarcian .com site & it didn't indicate an error.

I also don't see appfolio anywhere on my blocked list. So, I'm still looking for some insight as to how to get back the emails that I'm not receiving.
EmilyS726 269.1K Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-09-17T20:03:26.47+00:00

appfolio.com, is it? If so, it doesn't look great with DMARC or DKIM.

Their DNS records have problem.

You can try Gmail, they require these records too for senders, but they might require at a different threshold.. Their definition of "volume sender" might be different. Worth a try.