On October 3, 2023, Google and Yahoo announced requirements beginning February 2024 that bulk senders must have DMARC in place.
This information outlines the changes that bulk senders need to make in order to comply with the new DMARC policies set by Google and Yahoo. Here’s a summary of the key points:
Affected Parties:
- If you send 5,000 messages a day or more to Google or Yahoo, your email domain must have a DMARC policy in place by February 2024.
- This includes customers using Microsoft 365. Microsoft Exchange Online platform is a multi-tenant service and as such is considered a bulk sender in the view of Google or Yahoo's new DMARC policies.
- This also includes messages sent on behalf of your organisation by third-party email service providers (ESPs) that use your email domain.
Reasons for Change:
- Google and Yahoo aim to improve email safety and security by implementing DMARC requirements.
- DMARC helps prevent unwanted spam and identifies serious senders, improving inbox placement.
How to Prepare:
- Check the status of your email domains using a free domain checker to verify DMARC compliance.
- Use a DMARC Record Wizard to create a DMARC record if you don’t have one.
- Enable DMARC monitoring with a monitor-mode policy of p=none in your DNS.
- Ensure your messages pass DMARC alignment through DKIM or SPF.
- Validate that sending IPs have a PTR record (forward and reverse DNS).
- Avoid sending spam and comply with Yahoo and Gmail sender guidelines.
Technical Requirements:
- Implement a DMARC policy in your DNS.
- Use a DMARC Inspector to check for a DMARC record or DMARC Record Wizard to create one.
- Ensure messages pass DMARC alignment through DKIM or SPF.
- Validate sending IPs have a PTR record.
Sender Guideline Enforcement Dates:
- Yahoo will gradually enforce sender guidelines, starting in February 2024.
- Google will implement a gradual enforcement process, with temporary errors in February 2024 and rejection of non-compliant email traffic starting in April 2024.
- Bulk senders must implement one-click unsubscribe in all commercial, promotional messages by June 1, 2024.
