Fix email delivery issues with Amazon SES

Add Amazon SES to your SPF record

Who should read this guide?

This guide is for users who:

• Experience email delivery issues like bounces or spam filtering

• See DMARC authentication failures in email reports

• Notice emails going to customer spam folders

What is this guide for?

This guide helps you fix email delivery issues when connecting emails to Chatty.

If your emails are bouncing, going to spam, or experiencing delivery failures, adding Amazon SES to your SPF record can resolve these problems.

When do you need this?

You should follow this guide if you're experiencing:

Email delivery problems:

• Bounce messages mentioning SPF failures

• DMARC authentication failures

• Emails going to spam or junk folders

• Delivery delays from major email providers like Gmail or Outlook

If your emails are delivering successfully through Amazon SES, you don't need to make this change.

Only update your SPF record if you're having delivery problems.

Before you start

SPF record requirements:

• Only have one SPF record per domain

• Replace the existing record, don't create a duplicate

• Always keep ~all at the end of the record

• The order of include statements doesn't matter

Multiple AWS regions: If you use Amazon SES in multiple regions, you might need region-specific includes instead of the general amazonses.com. Contact our support team if you need help with multi-region setup.

How to add Amazon SES to your SPF record

Find your current SPF record

1. Go to your domain's DNS management panel

   • Access this through your domain registrar (GoDaddy, Namecheap, etc.)

   • Or through your DNS provider if different from your registrar

2. Look for a TXT record that starts with v=spf1

   • This is your current SPF record

   • Example: v=spf1 include:_spf.example.com ~all

Update your SPF record

1. Locate the existing SPF record

   • Find the TXT record containing your current SPF settings

2. Add Amazon SES to the record

   • Add include:amazonses.com to your existing SPF record

   • Place it before the ~all at the end

3. Example update:

   • Before: v=spf1 include:_spf.example.com ~all

   • After: v=spf1 include:amazonses.com include:_spf.example.com ~all

Save and verify changes

1. Save the DNS changes

   • Click save or update in your DNS panel

2. Wait for propagation

   • DNS changes take 15-60 minutes to take effect

   • Some providers may take up to 24 hours

3. Test email delivery

   • Send a test email through Chatty

   • Check if delivery issues are resolved

Verify your SPF record

Check if your SPF record is set up correctly:

1. Use an online SPF checker

   • Search "SPF record checker" and enter your domain

   • Verify that Amazon SES is included in the results

2. Check DNS propagation

   • Use tools like "DNS checker" to see if changes have propagated globally

Need help?

If you're still experiencing email delivery issues after updating your SPF record:

1. Contact your DNS provider

   • Some providers have specific requirements for SPF records

   • They can help verify the record is set up correctly

2. Check email authentication

   • Ensure DKIM and DMARC are also properly configured

   • These work together with SPF to improve deliverability

Or contact Our Customer Success team. We offer 24/7 assistance via email and live chat in app.