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TXT record lookup: read a domain's TXT records

Enter a domain or any DNS name to list its TXT records - SPF, DMARC and DKIM records, site verification strings and other text - as public DNS resolvers in several countries return them.

Examples: 300+ locations worldwide · results in about 10 seconds

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What a TXT record lookup shows

Every text string a name publishes in DNS, as public resolvers in several countries return it, with SPF, DMARC, DKIM and verification strings labeled.

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Why a new TXT record is not seen yet

A verification service only sees the record once its own resolver has it. Checking from several countries shows whether yours has spread.

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Records that belong on their own names

DMARC and DKIM do not live on the domain itself. Look up _dmarc.example.com for a DMARC policy and selector._domainkey.example.com for a DKIM key.

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Checking a mail setup? The MX lookup lists the mail servers of a domain, and the DNS lookup shows its A, AAAA, CNAME and MX records.

Key takeaways

  • This tool queries the TXT records of the name you enter from several HostTracker locations, asking five public DNS resolvers at each one, and lists every distinct text string with the countries that returned it.
  • Strings that start with v=spf1, v=DMARC1 or v=DKIM1 are labeled SPF (Sender Policy Framework), DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance) and DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail); the tool does not validate their contents.
  • A DMARC policy is looked up at _dmarc.example.com and a DKIM key at selector._domainkey.example.com, because both live on names of their own.
  • When more than one SPF record comes back, the result says so, because RFC 7208 allows a domain only one.
  • It is free, needs no login and no credit card.

Frequently asked questions.

A TXT record stores free-form text on a DNS name. Mail and web services read it to check that you control a domain: SPF records list the servers allowed to send mail for the domain, DMARC records publish a policy for mail that fails those checks, DKIM records hold public signing keys, and verification strings prove ownership to search consoles, certificate authorities and other hosted services.
Enter the exact name, such as example.com, and run the lookup: every TXT string comes back once, with the countries whose resolvers returned it. From a terminal, dig TXT example.com +short on macOS or Linux, or nslookup -type=txt example.com on Windows, asks your own resolver.
Both live on names of their own, not on the domain itself. A DMARC policy is the TXT record at _dmarc.example.com. A DKIM key sits at selector._domainkey.example.com, where the selector is chosen by your mail provider and appears as s= in the DKIM-Signature header of a message the domain sent. Enter that full name in the lookup. The guides to DMARC and DKIM explain the records themselves.
TXT records belong to one exact name: a record on example.com does not appear for www.example.com, and the reverse. Check that you entered the name the record was created on, and that it was saved at the DNS provider the domain actually uses - dig example.com NS +short lists those nameservers. A record added minutes ago may also still be hidden behind a cached "no such record" answer at some resolvers.
Yes, and most do: an SPF record plus several verification strings is common. The exception is SPF itself: a domain must publish exactly one record that starts with v=spf1, and two of them make receivers return a permanent error (RFC 7208). The lookup warns when it sees more than one. To combine two senders, merge their include: entries into a single SPF record. The SPF guide shows how.
One string inside a TXT record holds at most 255 characters (RFC 1035), so a long value, such as a 2048-bit DKIM key or a long SPF record, is stored as several strings that receivers join back together. The lookup lists each string on its own row, so a long key appears in pieces. That is normal and does not mean the record is broken.
A new record is usually visible within minutes at resolvers that never looked the name up. Resolvers that recently got a "no such record" answer, or that cached the old value of an edited record, keep it until it expires, which is set by the zone and can be an hour or more. Locations that do not show the record yet are in that state. HostTracker checkpoints keep each answer for at least 3 minutes as well, so a record saved a moment ago can take that long to show here. The DNS propagation guide explains the timing.
No. It shows the text exactly as resolvers return it and labels the common kinds by their prefix, but it does not parse the policy or test what it allows. The guide on checking SPF, DKIM and DMARC walks through what each part means.
Yes. It needs no signup and no credit card. Each lookup is one instant check, and at every location it runs from it asks five public DNS resolvers.

Part of HostTracker's website monitoring software.