> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.reallyquickemails.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Domains and senders

> Verify your domain and create senders in the app: the two requirements before any email goes out.

Before you can send, you need two things: a **verified domain** (proof to inbox providers that the email really comes from you) and a **sender** (the actual address in the "From:" line). Without both, nothing goes out.

<Info>
  This page covers the app. To do it over the API instead, see [Domains](/en/api-reference/domains).
</Info>

***

## Verify a domain

Go to **Settings → Domains** and add the domain you'll send from (say `yourcompany.com`). The app returns the DNS records you need to publish with your provider.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Copy the records">
    One by one, all of them as a tab-separated block, or exported as CSV to hand to whoever manages your DNS.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Publish them at your DNS provider">
    Cloudflare, Route 53, GoDaddy, your hosting panel — wherever your domain's records live.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Wait for propagation">
    DNS takes time. A few minutes with most providers, a few hours at worst. The app checks the status on its own.
  </Step>
</Steps>

### What each record does

| Record | Type  | Purpose                                                                                                        |
| ------ | ----- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| DKIM   | CNAME | Cryptographically signs every email. This is what proves the message came from your domain and wasn't altered. |
| SPF    | TXT   | Declares which servers may send on your behalf.                                                                |
| DMARC  | TXT   | Tells receivers what to do with mail that fails SPF and DKIM, and where to send reports.                       |

Two details break verification more often than anything else:

<Warning>
  **SPF: if you already have an SPF record, don't create another one.** A domain only allows one. Add `include:amazonses.com` to the existing record.

  **DMARC: same rule.** Only one DMARC record per domain. If you already have one, don't add a second.
</Warning>

<Note>
  Each record's **name** is relative to your domain. If your provider asks for the full name (FQDN), append your domain. Pasting an FQDN where a relative name is expected produces duplicated names like `_amazonses.yourdomain.com.yourdomain.com`, and verification never passes.
</Note>

### Status

DKIM is verified automatically by the sending provider once it sees the published records. SPF and DMARC aren't verified the same way — those reports come from the receiving side — so RQE queries your DNS and checks the contents directly.

While something is missing you'll see **partial verification**; once everything is in place, **ready to send**.

***

## Create a sender

A sender is the address your recipient sees in the "From:" line — `hello@yourcompany.com`, `sales@yourcompany.com`. Create them under **Settings → Senders**.

Each sender is verified by email: RQE sends a message to that address and you confirm from there.

<Warning>
  An unverified sender **cannot be activated**. This is the most common cause of "I set everything up and still can't send": the domain went green, but the specific address was never confirmed.
</Warning>

You can have several senders per project and pick which one each campaign or automation uses.

***

## If something won't verify

1. **Are the records published on the right domain?** A typo in a record name is invisible at a glance. Compare against the app, character by character.
2. **Did you duplicate SPF or DMARC?** See the warning above. This is the number one cause.
3. **Did you paste an FQDN where a relative name belongs?** See the note above.
4. **Has enough time passed?** If you published two minutes ago, wait.
5. **Is the sender verified too, not just the domain?** They're two separate steps.

With the domain green and the sender confirmed, you're ready: continue with [Campaigns](/en/app/campaigns).