Fix the syntax error in the SPF record on Cloudflare

Why it matters

Receivers return a permanent error for an SPF record they cannot parse, so SPF fails for every sender until it is fixed. The scan names the part that did not parse.

The fix

1. In the Cloudflare dashboard open DNS > Records, find the TXT record whose Content starts with v=spf1 and choose Edit.
2. Retype the Content by hand if it came from a document or chat (they often turn straight quotes into curly ones), fix the part named in the finding, and save. Cloudflare adds the surrounding quotes itself, so do not type them.

Type:     TXT
Name:     example.com
Content:  v=spf1 include:_spf.YOUR-MAIL-PROVIDER.example ip4:203.0.113.25 ~all

The examples use example.com. Replace it with your own domain.

Read the documentation ↗(opens in a new tab)

Related

• Reported by the SPF record check
• Publish an SPF record
• Merge the SPF records into one
• Replace +all in the SPF record with ~all
• Narrow the very large address range in the SPF record
• Change ?all in the SPF record to ~all
• Choose the right SPF ending for this domain
• End the SPF record with ~all or -all
• Bring the SPF record under 10 DNS lookups
• Leave room under the SPF lookup limit
• Remove SPF terms that point at names that no longer exist
• Fix the SPF include that has no SPF record
• Break the loop in the SPF includes
• Replace the include that has several SPF records
• Replace the ptr mechanism in the SPF record
• Check the SPF terms that use macros
• Re-run the scan if part of the SPF record could not be read