SPF error, ‘The number of lookups on your SPF record exceed the allowed limit of 10

Technical Help
1

Hello, I’m getting an SPF error, ‘The number of lookups on your SPF record exceed the allowed limit of 10. This will result in emails failing SPF authentication. Review record.’

I’ve looked at all the documentation and checked all the forums but nowhere is actually telling me how to fix this issue. This error appeared today after adding the DMARC record. How do I actually fix this? And what happens if this doesn’t get fixed?

Thank you for your help

2

Your SPF will always fail when it exceeds 10 lookups. You need to reduce the number of DNS queries required by your SPF record.

Have you examined your record with the dmarcian SPF surveyor?

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3

I believe it’s inaccurate to say that SPF will ALWAYS fail if it exceeds 10 lookups as I have seen multiple domains with 15+ lookups have no issues. However, that doesn’t mean it won’t fail.

Here are some things to check;

  • Check your SPF record using SPF Surveyor. I believe you can analyse the volume of emails per record added to your SPF. If the records are not being used, remove them.
  • A single record on your SPF might return multiple lookups. This is the first confusing part for most people. For example, if you use a platform for marketing with an SPF entry that returns 7 lookups, you could create a subdomain for marketing to distribute the SPF better.
  • I use dmarctester.com to help me troubleshoot SPF, DKIM and DMARC issues along with dmarcian. This can help you see precisely how your SPF, DKIM and DMARC are being treated.

I hope this helps.

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This is the effective and proven strategy.