In GoDaddy, add email records under Domain Portfolio, your domain, then DNS, then Add New Record. In the Name field, type only the prefix: @ for SPF, _dmarc for DMARC, <selector>._domainkey for DKIM. GoDaddy adds the domain itself. Check for an existing DMARC record first: GoDaddy has created one automatically on new domains since April 2025.
Records to add in GoDaddy
| Purpose | Type | Name | Value example |
|---|---|---|---|
| SPF | TXT | @ |
v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all |
| DKIM key | TXT | google._domainkey |
v=DKIM1; k=rsa; p=... |
| DKIM delegated | CNAME | selector1._domainkey |
provider host name |
| DMARC | TXT | _dmarc |
v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:... |
Use your own provider's values. The integration pages list them for each service.
How to add a record
GoDaddy's Add a TXT record steps, which are the same for CNAME apart from the type:
- Sign in to your GoDaddy Domain Portfolio.
- Select the domain to open Domain Settings.
- Select DNS.
- Select Add New Record and choose TXT or CNAME from Type.
- Fill in Name, Value and TTL (default 1 hour).
- Use Add More Records if you are adding several at once.
- Select Save, or Save All Records for a batch.
If the domain has GoDaddy's Domain Protection, you will be asked for a 2-step verification code or a one-time password before the change saves.
GoDaddy's SPF page adds one condition: the domain must use GoDaddy nameservers. If your nameservers point to Cloudflare or another host, records added at GoDaddy are ignored. Add them where the nameservers point instead.
Name conventions: prefix only
GoDaddy describes the Name field as "the hostname or prefix of the record, without the domain name". It appends example.com for you. So:
- SPF on the root:
@ - DMARC:
_dmarc - DKIM:
google._domainkey,s1._domainkey,selector1._domainkey - SendGrid's return path:
em1234, notem1234.example.com
This is the most common GoDaddy mistake, and the email providers warn about it by name. SendGrid's guide lists GoDaddy among the hosts that turn em123.example.com into em123.example.com.example.com. Zoho's DKIM page says the same for zoho._domainkey. If a provider will not verify, look up the name you created; if the domain appears twice, edit it down to the prefix.
GoDaddy's Name rules: periods allowed but not first or last, no consecutive periods, no leading or trailing hyphen, at most 63 characters between periods, 255 in total. A CNAME name cannot be @.
SPF on GoDaddy
GoDaddy's SPF article gives a fixed value for its own mail products. Professional Email, Microsoft 365 from GoDaddy, Linux Hosting, Gen 4 VPS and Dedicated Hosting, and Media Temple Mail all use:
v=spf1 include:secureserver.net -all
GoDaddy also states that only one SPF record works on a domain at a time. If you add Mailchimp or SendGrid, edit the existing @ TXT record and add the new include: before -all. Do not add a second v=spf1 record.
The SPF form takes up to 512 characters. That is plenty for includes, but long lists of ip4: ranges can hit it. The real limit is usually the 10 DNS lookups in RFC 7208, which the SPF checker counts for you.
DKIM on GoDaddy
TXT keys
Add a TXT record with the selector name and the key from your provider. GoDaddy allows up to 1,024 ASCII characters in a TXT value. A 2048-bit DKIM record runs to roughly 400 characters (the sample key on Google's DKIM troubleshooting page is 401), so it fits in a single field without splitting. Paste it as one line with no line breaks.
For mail on GoDaddy's own cPanel hosting, GoDaddy's hosting email guide says to copy the key from cPanel, under Email, then Email Deliverability, then Manage, and paste the Suggested "DKIM" (TXT) Record name and value into GoDaddy DNS.
CNAME keys
For Microsoft 365, Amazon SES, SendGrid and others, add CNAME records. GoDaddy has no proxy setting, so there is nothing to switch off. Put the prefix in Name (selector1._domainkey) and the provider's full host name in Value.
GoDaddy's CNAME form also rejects a name already used by another record. If a provider asks for a CNAME where a TXT record already sits, delete the old one first.
DMARC on GoDaddy: check for the automatic record
GoDaddy's email authentication page says that from April 2025, all new domains bought from GoDaddy have DMARC set up automatically, and older domains will get it later. The record it uses:
_dmarc TXT "v=DMARC1; p=quarantine; adkim=r; aspf=r; rua=mailto:dmarc_rua@onsecureserver.net;"
Two things follow. First, if you add your own _dmarc record without looking, you may end up with two, which receivers treat as no valid DMARC record at all. Edit GoDaddy's record instead. Second, that record starts at p=quarantine, not p=none. If you send through Google Workspace, a CRM and a newsletter tool and have not set up DKIM for all of them, some of that mail can land in spam from day one.
For a domain with several senders, a safer start is:
v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:dmarc@example.com
GoDaddy says its default rua address receives only technical data and that you can change it. Point it at a mailbox you read, or add a second address after a comma. The DMARC generator builds the record, and the DMARC analyzer reads the reports.
How long it takes
GoDaddy says most DNS updates take effect within an hour but can take up to 48 hours to update globally. The default TTL is 1 hour. Providers then run their own check: Google says up to 48 hours, Amazon SES up to 72.
Checking the result
Run the DMARC checker first to catch a duplicate or an unexpected GoDaddy record. Then the SPF checker for a single record and its lookup count, and the DKIM checker with your own domain and selector. If the DKIM checker finds nothing, query the doubled name, for example google._domainkey.example.com.example.com. A result there confirms the domain was typed into the Name field.