SPF: multiple SPF records Email / SMTP Origin: Network Last updated 4 Nov 2026

SPF: spf=permerror — Multiple SPF records found for example.com

The domain publishes more than one TXT record starting with v=spf1; receivers must treat that as a permanent error.

Exact message you may see Multiple SPF records foundspf=permerror multiple SPF recordsSPF PermError multiple recordsmore than one SPF recordReceived-SPF: PermError (multiple records)
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Seen on: SMTP Linux

Meaning

A domain may have exactly one SPF record. When you add a new email service, merge its include: into the existing record instead of creating a second TXT record. After merging, delete the duplicate and wait for DNS TTL to expire.

Common causes

  • A second v=spf1 record added for a new service
  • Records at both the apex and a conflicting wildcard
  • DNS provider UI creating duplicates
  • Old record never removed
  • CNAME and TXT both present at the name

⚡ Quick fix

  1. List all TXT records and merge into one v=spf1 line
  2. Delete duplicates and verify
  3. Keep one record with all includes and a single final -all or ~all

Detailed fix by platform

Linux

  1. dig +short TXT example.com | grep -c "v=spf1" should print 1

Code examples

One merged record

bash
example.com. IN TXT "v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com include:sendgrid.net ~all"

How to diagnose

  1. Count — Records starting v=spf1?
  2. Merge — Includes combined?
  3. TTL — Propagated?

🔧 Still not fixed?

Many errors look alike. If the steps above didn’t solve it, one of these is probably what you’re facing:

Where this error sits

Origin: Network. Errors that are often confused with or caused by this one (click to open):

550 5.7.25 PTR record required — SMTP: 550-5.7.25 The IP address sending this message does not have a PTR record setup, or the corresponding forward DNS entry does not point to the sending IP (Email / SMTP)550 5.7.25 PTR record…550 5.7.26 — 550 5.7.26 This mail has been blocked because the sender is unauthenticated (SPF/DKIM/DMARC) (Email / SMTP)550 5.7.26DKIM: no key for signature — DKIM: dkim=permerror (no key for signature) / key not found in DNS selector._domainkey (Email / SMTP)DKIM: no key for sign…DMARC fail: SPF and DKIM not aligned — DMARC: dmarc=fail (p=REJECT) — SPF and DKIM pass but domains are not aligned with the From header (Email / SMTP)DMARC fail: SPF and D…DMARC: no record found — DMARC: dmarc=none (no DMARC record found for example.com) — bulk sender requirements not met (Email / SMTP)DMARC: no record foundSPF fail / softfail: sender IP not authorized — SPF: Received-SPF: softfail (google.com: domain of transitioning bounce@example.com does not designate 203.0.113.5 as permitted sender) (Email / SMTP)SPF fail / softfail: …SPF PermError: too many DNS lookups — SPF: spf=permerror — Too many DNS lookups (limit is 10) (Email / SMTP)SPF PermError: too ma…SPF: mult…

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