What is a TXT Record?

DNS Text Records for Email Security and Domain Verification

A TXT record is a type of DNS record that stores text data. TXT records are widely used for email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), domain ownership verification, and other metadata purposes.

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Step 1: What is a TXT Record?

A TXT (Text) record is a DNS record type that allows domain owners to store arbitrary text data in their DNS zone. Originally designed for human-readable notes, TXT records are now primarily used for machine-readable purposes like email authentication and domain verification.

TXT records are managed alongside other DNS records (A, AAAA, MX, CNAME) at the authoritative nameserver level. They don't affect how a domain resolves — they provide metadata that other systems can query.

Step 2: Email Authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC)

The most important use of TXT records is email authentication — preventing email spoofing and phishing:

  • SPF (Sender Policy Framework): A TXT record listing which mail servers are authorized to send email for your domain. Receiving servers check SPF to verify the sender
  • DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail): A TXT record containing a public key used to verify that email messages were signed by the domain's mail server and haven't been modified in transit
  • DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication): A TXT record that tells receiving servers what to do when emails fail SPF or DKIM checks — quarantine, reject, or report

Together, SPF, DKIM, and DMARC form a defense against email spoofing — a critical complement to DNS security that protects against phishing attacks.

Step 3: Domain Verification

TXT records are widely used to prove domain ownership:

  • Google Workspace: Add a TXT record to verify domain ownership for Gmail and Google services
  • SSL certificates: Certificate authorities may require a TXT record to validate domain control before issuing TLS certificates
  • SaaS integrations: Many services (analytics, CDN, email) use TXT records for domain verification
  • Security scanning: Some security tools use TXT records to verify authorized scanning of a domain

Step 4: TXT Records and the DNS Ecosystem

TXT records are an authoritative DNS concept — they're configured by domain owners at their DNS hosting provider. Services like NOC.org manage authoritative DNS zones where TXT records (along with A, AAAA, MX, and other records) are created and maintained.

CleanBrowsing operates on the recursive resolver side — looking up DNS records on behalf of users. TXT record lookups pass through CleanBrowsing's resolver normally since they're essential for email authentication and domain verification. DNS content filtering focuses on blocking web content domains, not utility record types.

Learn more about DNS records and filtering

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