Level: Intermediate
DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance) ties SPF and DKIM together, adding a policy for how receiving servers should handle authentication failures and a reporting mechanism for visibility.
The Policy Tag Defines Enforcement
The p= tag in a DMARC record specifies whether receiving servers should take no action (none), quarantine (send to spam), or reject failing messages entirely.
Alignment Requires the From Domain to Match
DMARC passes only when either SPF or DKIM authentication succeeds and is aligned — meaning the authenticated domain matches the visible From header domain, not just any authorized sender.
Reporting Tags Enable Visibility Into Authentication Results
The rua and ruf tags specify where receiving providers should send aggregate and forensic reports, giving domain owners visibility into how their mail is being authenticated across the internet.
Next step: Use the Find DNS Records to check your domain's current DMARC record to confirm the policy, alignment settings, and reporting addresses are all correctly configured.