SPF · DNS_LOOKUP_LIMIT

SPF exceeds 10 DNS lookups (DNS_LOOKUP_LIMIT)

Your SPF record needs more than 10 DNS lookups, so SPF fails with a permanent error. Learn how to reduce includes and stay under the limit.

What it means

Evaluating the SPF record requires more than 10 DNS-querying mechanisms (include, a, mx, ptr, exists, redirect), which exceeds the limit set by the SPF standard.

Why it matters for sending

RFC 7208 limits SPF evaluation to 10 DNS-querying terms. Past that, the result is a permanent error (permerror) and receivers treat SPF as failed, even for your legitimate servers. Each include can count several lookups because nested records are counted too.

How to fix it

  1. Remove include: entries for services that no longer send mail for the domain.
  2. Replace a and mx mechanisms with the ip4:/ip6: ranges they resolve to when those addresses are stable.
  3. Avoid ptr, which the standard discourages.
  4. Move tools that send marketing or transactional mail to a subdomain with its own SPF record.
  5. Re-run the SPF checker until the lookup count is 10 or fewer.
Check your fix SPF Checker Related guide SPF, DKIM and DMARC for Cold Email

Sources

This page is based on public standards and provider documentation, reviewed on 2026-09-25.

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