What is DMARC Compliance?

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DMARC compliance is the process of sending emails from a domain that has DMARC implemented and configured for it. An email is determined to comply with DMARC only if it aligns with SPF and/or DKIM email authentication protocols. DMARC compliance determines whether an email sent from an established domain is authorized.

DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication Reporting and Conformance) provides email receivers and domain owners the ability to take policy-based actions against fraudulent emails. When done the right way, this can prevent cyberattacks like email spoofing. The actions may include lodging the emails into the receiver’s spam folder for further review or even outright rejections.

The Importance of Achieving DMARC Compliance

A security survey by Deloitte confirms that 91% of data breaches in today’s world are a result of phishing attacks. DMARC Compliance proactively improves email deliverability. It helps organizations prevent cybercriminals from abusing their email domain. Domain name abuse allows attackers to send out fraudulent messages or phishing emails. These emails reach your employees, partners, as well as customers! DMARC compliance thereby acts as a layer of protection, upholding your confidence and reputation in the market

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“Our clients with DMARC-compliant emails have witnessed improvement in deliverability by almost 10%. They have also reported a significant reduction in domain abuse incidents. Verifiable metrics like these, reinstate the importance of DMARC compliance.”, says Cybersecurity Expert and CEO of PowerDMARC, Maitham Al Lawati.

Given below are some of the main benefits of achieving DMARC compliance: 

1. Prevent Spoofing and Phishing Attacks

DMARC complaint emails minimize the risks of spoofing and phishing attacks. Compliance can protect your domain name against impersonation. According to a report by Global Cyber Alliance, organizations can save up to $302,000 per year by implementing DMARC. 

2. Improve Mail Delivery Rates

Compliant emails are much more likely to end up in your client’s inbox than non-compliant ones. This is due to more and more email providers making DMARC compliance mandatory for email senders. This helps improve the deliverability of messages sent from authorized IP addresses.

3. Achieve PCI-DSS Compliance

The PCI Security Standards Council has made DMARC mandatory for version 4 compliance. The council further consolidates the need for organizations to gain compliance before March 2025.

Read more about DMARC PCI-DSS compliance.

4. Meet Google & Yahoo’s Email Sender Requirements

If you are a bulk message sender, which most organizations are, you need DMARC compliance now! Starting from Feb 2024, Google and Yahoo would require bulk message senders to send DMARC-compliant emails to their users. This is an attempt at promoting a less spammy inbox, and safer communications.

Read more about Google and Yahoo email authentication requirements.

5. Get Gmail’s Blue Verified Checkmark 

Who wouldn’t like to get a verification checkmark every time they send an email? For all domains that have achieved DMARC compliance, and have BIMI activated, Gmail attaches a blue tick to display trust in the source.

Read more about Gmail’s verified blue checkmark.

Check if Your Domain is DMARC Compliant

It is crucial to conduct a DMARC compliance check to ensure that your emails have DMARC enabled properly. More often than not, domain owners make errors while configuring the protocol, leading to compliance issues. At PowerDMARC, we provide a few ways for you to check your compliance when you sign up for free:

Option 1: Use our PowerAnalyzer tool

You can enter your domain name in PowerAnalyzer to get started. Analyze your DMARC, SPF, and DKIM compliances in seconds with a detailed report! What’s better, you also get a domain security score!

Option 2: Use our Free DMARC checker tool

You can check DMARC compliance instantly with our DMARC checker tool. You can examine the status of your record’s validity, and troubleshoot errors faster!

Requirements for DMARC Compliance 

DMARC Compliance requires an email to authenticate and align against the Sender Policy Framework (SPF) and/or DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM). An email is determined to be DMARC compliant if it aligns with either or both of these authentication standards. Here are a few prerequisites to achieving DMARC compliance for your outbound emails:

• Enable SPF with a live list of authorized senders, including your third-party providers
• Or, configure your DKIM signature to set DKIM alignment for your emails
• Activate DMARC with a none, reject, or quarantine policy

While opting for DMARC compliance can be effective for preventing direct domain spoofing, it is not always effective. DMARC fails to address look-alike domains, display name spoofing, newly-registered domains, and ‘reply-to’ mismatches. Using multilayered defenses against email data breaches can be effective under such circumstances.

Make Your Emails DMARC Compliant: Step-by-Step Process

To send DMARC compliant emails that easily pass deliverability checks, follow the steps given below:

1. Create an SPF or DKIM Record 

Sign up with PowerDMARC to gain access to your DMARC analyzer dashboard. Here you can use our setup wizard to create records in a step-by-step way. Or, you can head over to PowerToolbox to use the free SPF and DKIM generator tools.

Make sure you copy the TXT record(s) and publish it in your DNS with the help of your domain registrar.

2. Create your DMARC DNS record 

Once SPF or DKIM is set up, use the setup wizard on our dashboard to create your DMARC record. It’s an easy 3-step process. You just enter the domain you want to manage, create your record, and publish it on your DNS.

3. Set a DMARC Policy

When you create your record for DMARC, it is mandatory to choose a DMARC compliance policy. You can choose one of 3 policy modes. 

• Choose “none” for no action against unauthorized emails
• Choose “quarantine” to lodge bad emails in the quarantine folder 
• Choose “reject” to stop unauthenticated emails from getting delivered 

You can enable a different policy for your subdomains as well. Beware that your subdomain policy will override the policy of your root domain for all subdomains. 

4. Publish the DMARC Record 

You must publish the created record in your DNS, to activate the protocol. Your DNS may take some time to propagate and implement the changes.