Why does Google Postmaster Tools show 0% SPF success rate when SPF, DKIM, and DMARC pass?

Email marketer from Mailchimp shares that the the domain in your Return-Path record does not match the domain in your From record, then your emails may fail SPF alignment, or have deliverability issues. Alignment is crucial for passing DMARC.

Marketer from Email Geeks shares that it sounds like the SPF might be using a different domain, even if it is a subdomain.

Marketer from Email Geeks shares that the little arrow down in gmail will only show mailed by or signed by if it exists and passes.

Marketer from Email Geeks answers that mailed-by means SPF.

Email marketer from SparkPost explains that the root cause is commonly an SPF alignment problem. SPF alignment requires that the domain in the Return-Path matches the domain in the From: header. In the event of mismatched domains, the result will be a failed SPF check which has negative implications for deliverability.

Marketer from Email Geeks explains that it’s fine if it’s unaligned, as long as DKIM and DMARC are passing. DMARC only needs SPF or DKIM to pass and align.

Email marketer from Mailjet shares that to achieve full SPF compliance and alignment, the domain used for SPF authentication should match the domain in the From: header. If the domains don't match, the SPF check might pass technically, but it will fail the alignment check that DMARC requires, resulting in deliverability issues.

Email marketer from StackOverflow explains that it is likely that SPF is authenticating correctly, but failing the alignment check. Google Postmaster Tools specifically looks for SPF alignment. To resolve this, ensure the domain used in your 'Return-Path' matches the domain in your 'From' header.

Email marketer from SocketLabs shares that if you have a valid SPF record, but you're still seeing SPF failures or a 0% success rate, the issue might be related to your Return-Path domain. Many email providers use the Return-Path domain for SPF checks, and if this domain is different from the domain in your From address, it can lead to alignment issues.

Email marketer from MailerMailer explains that a 0% SPF success rate in Google Postmaster Tools, despite passing SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, often indicates an SPF alignment issue. SPF alignment requires the domain used in the 'MAIL FROM' or 'Return-Path' address to match the domain in the 'From' header. If these domains don't align, SPF may pass the authentication check but fail the alignment check, resulting in a 0% success rate in Google Postmaster Tools.

Email marketer from Reddit shares that the 0% SPF success rate could mean that even though your SPF record is valid, it's not aligning with your 'From' address. Make sure the domain used for sending (the 'envelope from' or 'Return-Path') is the same as, or a subdomain of, the domain in your 'From' address.

Marketer from Email Geeks explains that SPF for visible From domain is a legacy of SPF2.0, "SenderID," which Microsoft introduced as part of its "embrace and extend" strategy, which it then abandoned when it turned out to be useless, but only after a whole bunch of miscellaneous filters had been written to check SPF on the visible From domain. So, now, SPF for that domain's not technically required for anyone any more, but there's a whole bunch of little legacy filters that do it anyway...

Marketer from Email Geeks shares that a number of platforms are walking back deploying SPF, saying they manage it for you via the return-path domain. Though in the interest of having a belt and suspenders, deploying the SPF isn’t generally a bad idea because it helps in case any servers are out there processing SPF auth some divergent kind of way. Interesting regarding the. SPF auth graph being dependent on the HELO domain, because typically needs to match the PTR of the sending IP. I’ve seen IPs end up listed on SpamHaus when this is not the case.

Marketer from Email Geeks explains that Postmaster tools is actually reporting on the alignment.

Email marketer from EmailonAcid shares that although SPF may authenticate a message, DMARC also evaluates alignment. If SPF passes but isn’t aligned, then DMARC authentication fails. This typically occurs when the domain in the Return-Path doesn’t match the domain of the From address. You need to implement SPF alignment.

Email marketer from EasyDMARC explains that the 0% SPF success rate while having a valid SPF record likely indicates an alignment issue. Postmaster Tools emphasizes DMARC alignment, where the domain in the 'From' address must align with the authenticating domain (either SPF or DKIM). If the domains are misaligned, Postmaster Tools will report SPF as failing.

Email marketer from SendGrid explains that for optimal deliverability and DMARC compliance, the domain used for SPF authentication (the 'Return-Path' or 'MAIL FROM') should align with the domain used in the 'From' header. Even if your SPF record is valid, misaligned domains can lead to lower SPF success rates and potential deliverability issues.

Marketer from Email Geeks shares an easy way to check if everything is passing is to send an email to a Gmail account, then on desktop go to the 3 dots menu and click “Show Original” and review the top of the resulting new tab.

Expert from Spam Resource explains that a 0% SPF success rate, despite SPF passing, often means the receiving server is checking SPF against a different domain than what you expect. It's crucial to check which domain is being evaluated during the SPF check and ensure it aligns with your DMARC policy.

Expert from Word to the Wise explains Google Postmaster tools shows 0% if the emails don't align with DMARC. DMARC alignment depends on the domain in the header matching the domain which authorized the email through SPF or DKIM. Check your DMARC reports to get a clear picture of your authentication rates, including SPF, DKIM, and alignment results.

Documentation from RFC explains the Sender Policy Framework. The SPF authentication result is only part of the equation, DMARC focuses heavily on the alignment of the domain used to authenticate (SPF or DKIM) and the domain presented to the user in the From: header. If alignment fails, even with a passing SPF record, a DMARC policy might still reject the email.

Documentation from AuthSMTP states that even if your SPF record is valid, you may see SPF failures in reports if the sending domain in the Return-Path doesn't match the domain in the From: header. To ensure SPF passes correctly and aligns with DMARC, the Return-Path domain must match your From: domain, or be a subdomain of it.

Documentation from Google explains that Google Postmaster Tools displays SPF success rates based on SPF alignment, not just passing SPF. Alignment checks if the domain in the 'Return-Path' matches the domain in the 'From' header. Even if SPF passes initially, a mismatch in these domains leads to a 0% SPF success rate within the tool.

Documentation from DMARC Analyzer explains that for SPF to fully 'align' under DMARC, the domain in the 'Return-Path' (also known as the 'envelope from' address) must match the domain in the 'From' header. If the domains are different, SPF authentication passes but the alignment fails, which can lead to issues with deliverability and reporting in tools like Google Postmaster Tools.