Why is my SPF record showing as neutral?

Email marketer from EasyDMARC explains that an SPF record showing neutral can be because the sending server's IP address isn't listed in the SPF record, or the SPF record contains errors. A missing 'v=spf1' tag can also cause issues.

Email marketer from Stack Overflow explains SPF Neutral is when there is a valid SPF record but it does not explicitly Pass or Fail for the sending IP. An SPF record may exist, but it doesn't have an opinion about the current IP. The record could be misconfigured or purposefully setup to be neutral. Where as SPF None means that there is no SPF record found at all.

Email marketer from DMARC Analyzer explains if you're getting a 'neutral' SPF result when testing your domain, this means that either the IP address isn't listed as authorized in your SPF record, or there's a configuration error somewhere in your syntax.

Marketer from Email Geeks explains to look in the `authentication-results` section of an email's headers, it will tell you the domain that it actually checked for SPF. That's the return-path domain.

Email marketer from MXToolbox shares that a common reason for a neutral SPF is that the sending server's IP address is not authorized in the SPF record. Review the record and make sure it includes the necessary IP addresses or domains that send email on your behalf.

Email marketer from Mailhardener Blog shares that a 'neutral' result can occur for a few reasons: either no SPF record is published, the published SPF record is syntactically invalid, or the SPF record explicitly returns 'neutral'.

Email marketer from Reddit explains that if SPF is neutral, check the SPF record itself for syntax errors, ensure the sending IP is included, and verify that the DNS propagation has completed after making changes.

Email marketer from EmailQuestions.com explains that if SPF is evaluating as Neutral then the record is most likely missing an IP or server. Check with your service provider to ensure that all IPs or servers that may send as you, are configured within the SPF record. It is also best practice to use a Hard Fail, which is '-all'.

Marketer from Email Geeks explains that you still need an "all statement" at the end of an SPF record and generally "~all" (softfail) is recommended.

Marketer from Email Geeks shares if you just updated it a few minutes ago then, yeah, needs to cycle thru.

Marketer from Email Geeks shares to check that the SPF record is actually published for the envelope from/return-path domain, i.e. the SPF domain (as the visible from domain may be different).

Email marketer from Email Marketing Forum shares ensure that your SPF record includes all IP addresses that send email on behalf of your domain. If you use multiple email service providers or servers, list all their IPs in the record.

Expert from Email Geeks explains the v= is missing from the SPF record. The correct format should be "v=spf1 ip4:66.96.128.0/18 ~all"

Expert from Email Geeks shares it could be cached at the receiving side and visually the record looks good now though.

Expert from Word to the Wise explains that SPF is only one factor to review when determining if a email is authentic and if the SPF record doesn't have an opinion, it is usually better to assume something is wrong so you can start investigating. SPF should ideally be a "hard fail" (-all) instead of a "soft fail" (~all) or neutral (?all) for better protection.

Expert from Word to the Wise explains a common mistake is the DNS limit of SPF records, especially when using multiple third-party senders. Each 'include:' mechanism counts as a DNS lookup, and exceeding 10 can cause the SPF to return neutral or an error. Make sure to flatten your SPF record to avoid this.

Documentation from Google Workspace Admin Help explains that an SPF result of Neutral means that the domain owner hasn't stated whether the IP address is authorized to send email on their behalf. This could indicate a problem with the SPF record configuration, or it could mean the domain intentionally doesn't use SPF.

Documentation from Cloudflare explains that consider the number of DNS lookups when configuring your SPF record. Each 'include:' statement counts as a lookup, and exceeding the limit of 10 lookups can cause the SPF check to return 'neutral' or 'permerror'.

Documentation from Microsoft Learn shares that you should verify the SPF record syntax to ensure it's correct. Incorrect syntax can lead to the SPF check failing or returning an unexpected result like neutral.

Documentation from RFC 7208 explains that the 'neutral' result means the domain makes no assertion about whether the IP is authorized. This is distinct from 'pass' or 'fail', and should be treated cautiously.