--- title: "Free SPF Validator - Check SPF Record Syntax and Compliance | AutoSPF" description: "Validate any SPF record for syntax errors, DNS lookup limit violations, void lookups, and RFC 7208 compliance. Free, no signup required." image: "https://autospf.com/images/og-default.png" canonical: "https://autospf.com/tools/spf-validator/" --- Enter your domain name Check SPF Record We'll retrieve and analyze the live SPF record from DNS for your domain. ## What Does This SPF Validator Check? **Syntax validation** Correct v=spf1 prefix, valid mechanisms, proper qualifiers **DNS lookup count** Must be ≤ 10 per RFC 7208 §4.6.4 **Void lookup detection** Includes resolving to empty responses (≤ 2 allowed) **Deprecated mechanism warnings** Flags ptr usage (not recommended by RFC 7208 §5.5) **Macro detection** Identifies SPF macro syntax for dynamic resolution **Recursive include expansion** Full mechanism tree showing nested lookup chains ## SPF validation failed? AutoSPF automatically fixes the 10-lookup limit, keeps your record valid, and re-scans every 15 minutes. Enterprise SLAs, SSO/SAML, audit logs included. [Start Free Trial→](https://app.autospf.com/login)[View Plans & Pricing](/pricing/) Rated 5/5 on G2 · Trusted since 2018 ## What Our Customers Say ### "AutoSPF Flattens SPF Records Seamlessly & Keeps Changes Logged - I am quite pleased with the product" > It does what it promises to do, and does it very well. I appreciate that it keeps a log of changes made, which prevents many mistakes. A client's SPF record would have way too many lookups, but AutoSPF makes that problem go away. The length of the SPF record is typically not the issue; it's the amount of lookups in the record that are. AutoSPF "flattens" the record, automatically expanding the defined lookups to IP addresses or ranges. And it auto-updates the record when the un-flattened lookups change. PJ Peter J. President · Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) ### "Helped us go beyond capacity" > AutoSPF did exactly as described, it helped us get past our 10 lookup limit. Afterwards, we hit another limit regarding overall capacity and when contacted, they quickly provided us with a new solution to eliminate capacity issues entirely going forward, so now we can add as many SPF records as needed. They also provided us with a personalized support video explaining their new method in its entirety using our instance as the example. VU Verified User Financial Services · Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) [Read our reviews on G2 ](https://www.g2.com/products/autospf/reviews) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138897474","name":"AutoSPF","url":"https://autospf.com","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://autospf.com/images/autospf-logo.png"},"description":"Automatic SPF flattening and email authentication management. Resolve SPF lookup limits, flatten SPF records, and maintain email deliverability across all your domains.","parentOrganization":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138883901","name":"DuoCircle LLC","url":"https://www.duocircle.com","sameAs":["https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138883901","https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/duocircle-llc","https://www.linkedin.com/company/duocircle","https://github.com/duocircle"],"subOrganization":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138898167","name":"DMARC Report","url":"https://dmarcreport.com"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138897474","name":"AutoSPF","url":"https://autospf.com"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138897912","name":"Phish Protection","url":"https://www.phishprotection.com"}]},"sameAs":["https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138897474","https://www.linkedin.com/company/autospf","https://x.com/autospf01","https://www.facebook.com/autospf","https://github.com/duocircle","https://www.g2.com/products/autospf/reviews"],"aggregateRating":{"@type":"AggregateRating","ratingValue":"4.6","reviewCount":"28","bestRating":"5","worstRating":"1","url":"https://www.g2.com/products/autospf/reviews"},"contactPoint":{"@type":"ContactPoint","contactType":"customer support","url":"https://autospf.com/contact-us/"},"knowsAbout":["SPF Record Flattening","Sender Policy Framework","Email Authentication","DNS Management","DMARC","DKIM","Email Deliverability","SPF Lookup Limits"]} ``` ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"WebSite","name":"AutoSPF","url":"https://autospf.com","description":"Automatic SPF flattening and email authentication management. Resolve SPF lookup limits, flatten SPF records, and maintain email deliverability across all your domains.","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"AutoSPF","url":"https://autospf.com","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://autospf.com/images/autospf-logo.png"},"description":"Automatic SPF flattening and email authentication management. Resolve SPF lookup limits, flatten SPF records, and maintain email deliverability across all your domains.","parentOrganization":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138883901","name":"DuoCircle LLC","url":"https://www.duocircle.com","sameAs":["https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138883901","https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/duocircle-llc","https://www.linkedin.com/company/duocircle","https://github.com/duocircle"],"subOrganization":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138898167","name":"DMARC Report","url":"https://dmarcreport.com"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138897474","name":"AutoSPF","url":"https://autospf.com"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138897912","name":"Phish Protection","url":"https://www.phishprotection.com"}]}}} ``` ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"What does an SPF validator check?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"An SPF validator checks: syntax correctness (starts with v=spf1, valid mechanisms, proper qualifier), DNS lookup count (RFC 7208 limit of 10), void lookup count (limit of 2), deprecated mechanisms (ptr), multiple SPF records on the same domain (PermError), and proper use of the all qualifier."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"What is the difference between an SPF checker and an SPF validator?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"They are functionally the same tool. \"SPF checker\" typically emphasizes looking up the record, while \"SPF validator\" emphasizes checking it for errors. AutoSPF's tool does both - it retrieves the live record from DNS AND validates it against RFC 7208 rules."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"How do I fix an invalid SPF record?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Common fixes: merge multiple SPF records into one (RFC 7208 requires exactly one per domain), reduce DNS lookups below 10 by flattening includes into IP addresses, remove deprecated ptr mechanisms, and ensure the record starts with v=spf1 and ends with a qualifier (-all, ~all, or ?all)."}}]} ``` ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://autospf.com/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Tools","item":"https://autospf.com/tools/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"SPF Validator","item":"https://autospf.com/tools/spf-validator/"}]} ``` ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Product","name":"AutoSPF","url":"https://autospf.com","aggregateRating":{"@type":"AggregateRating","ratingValue":5,"reviewCount":21,"bestRating":5,"worstRating":1},"review":[{"@type":"Review","reviewRating":{"@type":"Rating","ratingValue":5,"bestRating":5},"author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Peter J.","jobTitle":"President"},"datePublished":"2026-03-10","reviewBody":"It does what it promises to do, and does it very well. I appreciate that it keeps a log of changes made, which prevents many mistakes. A client's SPF record would have way too many lookups, but AutoSPF makes that problem go away. The length of the SPF record is typically not the issue; it's the amount of lookups in the record that are. AutoSPF \"flattens\" the record, automatically expanding the defined lookups to IP addresses or ranges. And it auto-updates the record when the un-flattened lookups change.","name":"AutoSPF Flattens SPF Records Seamlessly & Keeps Changes Logged - I am quite pleased with the product","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"G2","url":"https://www.g2.com"}},{"@type":"Review","reviewRating":{"@type":"Rating","ratingValue":5,"bestRating":5},"author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Verified User","jobTitle":"Financial Services"},"datePublished":"2025-07-31","reviewBody":"AutoSPF did exactly as described, it helped us get past our 10 lookup limit. Afterwards, we hit another limit regarding overall capacity and when contacted, they quickly provided us with a new solution to eliminate capacity issues entirely going forward, so now we can add as many SPF records as needed. They also provided us with a personalized support video explaining their new method in its entirety using our instance as the example.","name":"Helped us go beyond capacity","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"G2","url":"https://www.g2.com"}}]} ```