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Provider Setup · Google Workspace SPF

Google Workspace SPF record: the exact value

The SPF record itself is one line. Where people lose time is assuming it lives in the Admin console, and forgetting it needs to include every other service that sends as the domain.
3 min read · Updated August 2026

The Google Workspace SPF record is a single TXT record: v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all. It is published at your domain's DNS host, the same place MX and DKIM records live, not inside the Google Admin console.

The ~all at the end is a soft fail: receiving servers accept mail from senders not listed in the record but treat it as suspicious, rather than rejecting it outright the way a hard fail (-all) would. This is Google's own standard recommendation for the record.

The rule that causes most of the breakage

Only one SPF record may exist per domain. Every other service that sends mail as the domain, a CRM, a helpdesk tool, a marketing platform, needs its include: mechanism added inside this same record rather than published as a second TXT record.

How I check it Authentication is the first of the six checks I run on any deliverability problem, because it resolves in minutes against a DNS lookup rather than an afternoon of reputation data. I confirm SPF, DKIM and DMARC together in one pass with the Google Workspace DNS checker, not SPF in isolation.

Why this is worth checking before anything else

The six-gate order I run on every problem puts authentication first for exactly this reason: it is cheap and fast to rule out, so there is no reason to spend an afternoon reading reputation data before confirming the DNS side is actually clean.

Questions I get asked a lot

Where do I set the SPF record for Google Workspace?

At your DNS host, not in the Google Admin console. Google Workspace does not manage your domain's DNS records directly unless your domain is also registered through Google Domains.

What does ~all mean in the Google Workspace SPF record?

A soft fail. Receiving servers are told to accept messages from senders not listed in the record but flag them as suspicious, rather than rejecting them outright the way a hard fail (-all) would.

Do I need to add my other email tools to this same record?

Yes. Any other service sending mail as your domain needs its own include mechanism inside this same SPF record, since only one may exist per domain.

Not sure SPF and DKIM actually agree?
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