# Setting up DMARC

To allow DMARCwise to receive and process the DMARC reports, you'll need to create (or update) a **DNS record** for your domain.

Head over to the dashboard and:

- Choose a domain name from the list or [add a new one](/docs/getting-started/adding-your-first-domain).
- Navigate to the **DMARC** tab to start the setup process.

<DocsInfoBlock title="Permissions">

- All team members can view the domains and their status.
- Only team members with a role of **Member**, **Admin** or **Owner** can enable/disable hosted mode (see below) or manually refresh the validation status of a domain.

</DocsInfoBlock>

## Manual vs Hosted

When setting up DMARC with DMARCwise, you have two configuration options:

- **Manual** lets you manage the DMARC record yourself through your DNS provider by creating a `TXT` record: all changes to the DMARC configuration will require you to edit the DNS record manually.
- **Hosted** lets you delegate the DNS record management to us with a `CNAME` record. You'll then be able to manage the DMARC configuration from the dashboard, without going through your DNS provider for every change.

If you'd like to simplify your DMARC management and manage the configuration from our web dashboard, choose the **Hosted** option. If you don't mind editing DNS records manually or have other constraints around DNS management, choose the **Manual** option. There are no technical drawbacks in choosing the hosted option.

<DocsInfoBlock title="Availability">

- Hosted DMARC is included with all paid plans. It is not available in the free plan.

</DocsInfoBlock>

## Manual configuration

You'll need to create a DNS record with these settings:

- **Record type**: `TXT`
- **Name**: `_dmarc` (or `_dmarc.{your domain}`)
- **TTL**: `3600`

The value of the record is different for every domain so it will be provided in the dashboard.

If you already have a DMARC record, we'll try to keep everything that was in it and only change the `rua` tag, adding an email address URI so that DMARC reports are delivered to DMARCwise.

Make sure to edit the existing record or remove any existing DMARC records before creating the new one. **Double check that you don't have more than one DMARC record**, as this would be an invalid configuration that prevents DMARC from working.

<DocsInfoBlock color="green">

Read [How to create a DNS record](/blog/create-dns-record) for some tips on how to set up the DNS record. If you're unsure about something or you get stuck, feel free to [contact us](/contact).

</DocsInfoBlock>

## Organization-wide reporting address

By default, each domain has its own aggregate reporting address. You can enable a single address that works for every domain under **Organization settings → Reporting address**.

The organization-wide address can be used in the `rua` tag of any DMARC record. It's recognizable by the 14-character token after `rua+`, which begins with `o-`, for example `mailto:rua+o-6qn6u6zwi4k4@dmarcwise.email`.

It's especially useful when managing DNS with shared templates or automation, and DMARCwise will automatically route each report to the correct domain.

## Hosted configuration

To enable hosted mode, choose the **Hosted** tab in the DMARC setup box of the dashboard. Click <DocsButton>Switch to hosted mode</DocsButton> to load the existing DMARC configuration (if any) and start the onboarding process.

You'll be asked to create a DNS record with these settings:

- **Record type**: `CNAME`
- **Name**: `_dmarc` (or `_dmarc.{your domain}`)
- **TTL**: `3600`

The value of the record is different for every domain so it will be provided in the dashboard. It will look something like this: `{token}._dmarc.dmarcwise.net`.

The `CNAME` record type lets you alias the DMARC record subdomain so that it's served by DMARCwise through our authoritative DNS server.

If you already have a DMARC record, you may not be able to change the type of the existing record, so you'll need to remove the record and create a new one.

**Double check that you don't have more than one DMARC record**, as this would be an invalid configuration that prevents DMARC from working.

<DocsInfoBlock color="yellow">

⚠️ If you see a message saying that **Record provisioning is in progress**, you may want to wait and refresh until we've set up the hosted DNS record.

Waiting for the provisioning to complete  ensures that there are no gaps in the availability of your DMARC record.

</DocsInfoBlock>

## Validating the domain

In the dashboard, click the <DocsButton>Validate</DocsButton> button to verify that the DMARC record is correctly set up.

If you see a message that tells you to try again later, it means that our system isn't seeing the record (yet). DNS records are cached, so you sometimes need to wait a few minutes or hours for DMARCwise to be able to see the updated record.

You can also leave the dashboard and we'll try to validate the domain automatically in the background. You'll receive an email from us as soon as we detect the DNS record.