Email Sending Configuration Options for DMARC Domains

This guide is intended for users that have a DMARC policy set up on their domain. DMARC is a technology that is used to prevent email spoofing. A DMARC policy is published through DNS and helps emails systems detect which emails, claiming to be from an email address on your domain, are legitimate and which ones are not. A DMARC policy also provides guidance to email systems for helping them decide what action they should take (i.e. report, quarantine or reject) when they encounter an email that is not legitimately coming from your domain.

If your domain has a DMARC policy this means that we’ll need to send your emails out a bit differently than our default method. Below is a description of the two configuration options that we can use when sending emails for your domain, along with the pros and cons for both options. Note that in the case of Option 2 we describe the DNS changes that must be made by your email system administrator. Please take time to go over these two options and then let us know which option you would like to use.

Note: Please let SchoolMessenger Solutions Support know once these DNS changes have been made.

Option 1

Sending Configuration

Return-Path: bounces@spe.schoolmessenger.com

Header From Name: The name the user types in when creating the email.

Header From Address: broadcasts@schoolmessengermail.com

Reply-To: Address (on your domain) the user types in when creating the email

DKIM Signing Domain: spe.schoolmessenger.com

DKIM Selector: spe1

DKIM Private Key: We use our default private key to sign the emails with.

DKIM Public Key: We use our default public key.

Option 1 Pros

No DNS changes need to be made on your end.

Option 1 Cons

Your emails won’t appear to come from an email address at your domain. Instead, they will come from broadcasts@schoolmessenger.com. However, note that users can type in a more descriptive name (i.e. “Springfield ISD Broadcasts”) into the From Name field of the email broadcast.

Option 2

Sending Configuration

Return-Path: bounces@example.com (where example.com is your domain)

Header From Name: The name the user types in when creating the email.

Header From Address: Address (on your domain) the user types in when creating the email.

Reply-To: Our system copies the Header From email address.

DKIM Signing Domain: Your domain

DKIM Selector: spe1

DKIM Private Key: We use our default private key to sign the emails with.

DKIM Public Key: We use our default public key.

DNS Changes Required for Option 2

Add the following text your existing SPF record:

include:customerspf.schoolmessenger.com

Add the following CNAME record (where example.com is your domain):

spe1._domainkey.example.com CNAME spe1._domainkey.spe.schoolmessenger.com

Option 2 Pros

Your emails will appear to come from an email address on your domain.

Options 2 Cons

DNS changes will need to be made on your end.

Out-of-band bounces, which are bounces that occur after we’ve handed off the email to the recipient’s email system, will not be processed by our system.