# Do I need SPF, DKIM, and DMARC for cold email?
> Yes. Mailbox providers expect authentication. Sending without them is how you land in spam before the copy gets a chance.
- HTML: https://omentir.com/help/do-i-need-spf-dkim-dmarc-for-cold-email
- Markdown: https://omentir.com/help/do-i-need-spf-dkim-dmarc-for-cold-email.md

SPF says which servers may send for the domain. DKIM signs the message. DMARC tells receivers what to do when those fail. This is baseline for any domain that sends mail, not a growth hack.

Set them up on the sending domain before warmup. A tool that "just works" without DNS is sending from someone else's reputation, or it will break.

Start DMARC in monitoring (p=none) until you know what is sending as you, then tighten. Do not jump to reject on a domain you do not understand. You can kill customer mail too if it is the same domain.

Alignment matters. If the visible From domain and the authenticated domain disagree, filters get suspicious. Keep them in the same family.

Authentication will not save a dirty list or a complaint spike. It is necessary, not sufficient. See [why mail goes to spam](/help/why-are-my-cold-emails-going-to-spam).

## Related

- [Should I use a separate domain for cold email?](https://omentir.com/help/should-i-use-a-separate-domain-for-cold-email.md)
- [How long should I warm up a cold email domain?](https://omentir.com/help/how-long-to-warm-up-a-cold-email-domain.md)
- [Why are my cold emails going to spam?](https://omentir.com/help/why-are-my-cold-emails-going-to-spam.md)

## Frequently asked questions

**Can I send from Gmail without this?**

Personal Gmail is not a cold outbound system. Workspace domains still need the records. Do not blast from a free Gmail.

**How long until DNS works?**

Minutes to a day. Send a test to yourself and check the headers. Do not start a 5,000-person campaign on hope.

**Does LinkedIn need SPF?**

LinkedIn DMs are not email. Different channel. If your sequence hops to email, that hop needs DNS.

**Who should set this up?**

Whoever owns the domain DNS. If that is not you, write the records down and sit with them. Guessing TXT records is how sites break.

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