Definition
A DMARC policy instructs receivers how to handle mail that fails authentication. The levels are none, quarantine, and reject, published in a DNS TXT record.
Senders typically start at none to monitor, then tighten as confidence grows.
The DMARC policy tells receivers what to do with failed mail, so it controls your exposure to spoofing. Starting at none and tightening as confidence grows avoids blocking legitimate mail. Watching aggregate reports guides the transition.
Policy Levels
None monitors without action; quarantine sends failures to spam; reject refuses them.
Tighten gradually to avoid blocking legitimate mail.
Why It Matters
The DMARC policy tells receivers what to do with failed mail, so it controls your exposure to spoofing. Understanding it is essential to authentication.
Best Practices
- Start with none to monitor before enforcing.
- Move to quarantine then reject as confidence grows.
- Watch aggregate reports before tightening policy.
- Fix authentication failures first.
- Keep policy aligned with your capabilities.
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Frequently Asked Questions
It instructs receivers how to treat unauthenticated mail. The DMARC policy tells receivers what to do with failed mail, so it controls your exposure to spoofing.
None, quarantine, and reject. Starting at none and tightening as confidence grows avoids blocking legitimate mail.
To observe legitimate mail before risking rejection. Watching aggregate reports guides the transition.
After confirming all legitimate mail authenticates. The DMARC policy tells receivers what to do with failed mail, so it controls your exposure to spoofing.
Legitimate misconfigured mail gets rejected. Starting at none and tightening as confidence grows avoids blocking legitimate mail.