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Verify your sending domain

FormRoute sends your submissions from an address on your own domain. Four DNS records make that possible and prove the domain is yours.

Why verify a domain

Receiving mail servers check whether a message really comes from the domain in its From address. Form mail sent from a web server usually fails that check, which is why it ends up in spam. FormRoute signs your mail with DKIM for your domain and sends it through Amazon SES in Stockholm, Sweden, so the check passes.

The four records

In your account, add your domain under the setup guide. FormRoute then shows four records with your exact values; they look like this:

DNS records for example.com
Type   Name                               Value
CNAME  <token1>._domainkey.example.com    <token1>.dkim.amazonses.com
CNAME  <token2>._domainkey.example.com    <token2>.dkim.amazonses.com
CNAME  <token3>._domainkey.example.com    <token3>.dkim.amazonses.com
TXT    _formroute.example.com             formroute-verification=<token>
  • Three CNAME records let Amazon SES sign mail for your domain with DKIM. The private keys stay with Amazon; the CNAMEs point to the public keys.
  • One TXT record on _formroute.example.com proves the domain belongs to your FormRoute account, so nobody else can register it and send as you.

None of them change where your email is delivered: your MX records and existing mailboxes are untouched.

Adding the records

  1. Sign in to the place that manages DNS for your domain: your registrar, your host or Cloudflare.
  2. Add each record with the type, name and value FormRoute shows. Copy and paste the values rather than typing them.
  3. If your provider adds the domain to names automatically, enter only the part before it, such as <token1>._domainkey or _formroute.
  4. On Cloudflare, set the three CNAME records to DNS only (grey cloud), not proxied.

Verification

FormRoute checks the records for you and marks the domain verified once Amazon SES and the ownership check both see them. New records often appear within minutes, but DNS can take several hours to update everywhere, and Amazon allows up to 72 hours for DKIM.

Still pending after a few hours? Look for a typo, a missing record, a doubled domain name such as _formroute.example.com.example.com, or a proxied CNAME.

Choosing the sender address

Once the domain is verified, pick the address your submissions come from, such as [email protected]. Replies to a submission email go to this address, so choose one that someone reads.

SPF and DMARC

You don't need to change your SPF record. Messages are signed with DKIM for your own domain, which is what DMARC checks for alignment, so they pass even if your DMARC policy is set to quarantine or reject.

Next: set up your form, or read Testing and troubleshooting.