How to Check if Email Forwarding Is Set Up on Your Domain
To check whether email forwarding is set up on a domain, look at its MX records. MX records say which servers accept mail for the domain, and forwarding services publish their own host names there. The email forwarding checker reads a domain's MX, SPF and DMARC records from public DNS and tells you whether mail goes to a forwarding service (and which), to a real mailbox provider, to a security gateway, or nowhere. It sends no email.
DNS tells you where mail for the domain arrives. It cannot tell you where the forwarder then sends it, so the final step is always a test message.
Why people check
Free forwarding is how many small businesses and side projects run their address: buy a domain, point hello@yourdomain.com at a personal inbox, done. It also fails quietly. A DNS change that didn't save, a leftover record from a previous provider, or a missing SPF include can leave you with an address that looks live and loses mail. Secondary domains used for cold email often forward replies to a main inbox and have the same risk.
Step 1: enter the domain
Open the email forwarding checker and type the domain you set forwarding up on. You can also paste up to 25 domains or email addresses, one per line, and up to 100 when signed in with Google, which helps if you manage a set of sending or client domains.
Step 2: read the verdict
The tool looks up the MX records and compares the host names with the documented ones for common forwarders. Examples of those host names:
| Service | MX host name it publishes |
|---|---|
| Cloudflare Email Routing | route1.mx.cloudflare.net and siblings |
| ImprovMX | mx1.improvmx.com |
| Forward Email | mx1.forwardemail.net |
| Namecheap free forwarding | eforward1.registrar-servers.com |
| Porkbun forwarding | fwd1.porkbun.com |
| SimpleLogin | mx1.simplelogin.co |
Possible results:
- Forwarding set up, with the service named.
- Mailboxes: the MX points at a provider such as Google Workspace, Microsoft 365 or Zoho.
- Security gateway: mail goes through a filtering service first.
- No MX: nothing is set up to receive mail.
- Null MX: a single MX of priority 0 pointing at
., which says the domain refuses all mail (RFC 7505). - Forwarding mixed with another server: see below.
Anything that is not on the tool's list of documented hosts shows as not recognised, so a smaller forwarder won't be named even if it works.
Step 3: fix a mixed setup
The result to act on is forwarding mixed with another provider. Senders try the MX host with the lowest priority number first and fall back to the others (RFC 5321, section 5). With two setups in the record set, mail can arrive at the forwarder one day and at the old provider the next. Remove the records you no longer use, keep the ones from your forwarder's setup page, and run the check again.
If you meant to use a forwarder but the domain shows mailboxes, replace the old MX records with the ones the forwarder gives you.
Step 4: check SPF and DMARC
The tool also reports whether SPF includes the value your forwarder documents, such as include:_spf.mx.cloudflare.net for Cloudflare Email Routing or include:spf.improvmx.com for ImprovMX, and whether a DMARC record exists.
Add the include to the one SPF record you already have. A domain with two SPF records fails SPF, so merge rather than add a second one. The SPF record merger combines them. For background, read combine services into one SPF record and SPF, DKIM and DMARC explained.
Step 5: send a test message
DNS can't see the last hop, because the destination inbox is a setting inside the forwarding service. To confirm it works, send a message from a different account, not from the destination inbox itself, to the forwarding address and check that it arrives. Look in spam too. If it doesn't arrive, check the forwarding rule and that the destination address was verified in the service, which many forwarders require.
Sending from a forwarding address
Forwarding handles incoming mail only. To reply as hello@yourdomain.com, you need an outgoing server that is permitted to send for the domain. Some forwarders offer SMTP on paid plans, SimpleLogin sends replies through its own servers, and Cloudflare Email Routing and registrar forwarding only receive. Whatever sends must be in the domain's SPF record, and the domain should publish DMARC, or your replies are likely to be filtered. See how to set up a domain for cold email if this domain will send at volume.
What the checker can't see
- Where the forwarder sends mail on. Only a test message confirms that.
- Forwarding rules set inside a mailbox (Gmail, Outlook). They are invisible in DNS and show as mailboxes.
- Forwarders not on its documented list, which show as not recognised.
- Very recent DNS changes. A resolver may keep the old record for up to its TTL, so a change made a few minutes ago may not show yet.
Check the addresses too
Once forwarding is working, check that the addresses you are mailing from or to are real. Paste one into the email checker, or upload a list on the verify page: the first 100 email checks are free with a Google sign-in, no card. For the wider picture of a domain, the domain email setup checker and the email provider lookup are the next stops.
Check your own domain
Run it now in the email forwarding checker. It reads public DNS only and takes a few seconds. For lists of addresses see bulk email verification and pricing.
Common questions
How do I know if my email forwarding is working?
First check that the domain's MX records point at the forwarding service. Then send a test message from a different account to the forwarding address and confirm it arrives. DNS can show where mail for the domain is delivered, but not the inbox the service passes it on to.
Why is mail to my domain not arriving?
The common causes are no MX records at all, MX records still pointing at an old provider, or a mix of both. A null MX, a single MX of priority 0 pointing at a dot, means the domain refuses all mail.
Do I need SPF for email forwarding?
Receiving mail doesn't need SPF. Most forwarding services ask you to add their include so that mail they pass on, or send for you, authenticates. Keep one SPF record and add the include to it, because two SPF records break SPF.
Can I send email from a forwarding address?
Not through forwarding alone. A forwarder receives mail; it doesn't give you a mailbox or an outgoing server. Some services offer SMTP on paid plans, and Cloudflare Email Routing and registrar forwarding only receive. To reply as your address you need a server that is allowed to send for the domain.
Why does my domain show mailboxes instead of forwarding?
Its MX records point at a mailbox provider such as Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, not at a forwarding service. Forwarding inside a mailbox is a rule in the mailbox, which DNS can't see.
Check your list before you send
Real mailbox checks over SMTP, and nothing is sent to the address. Sign in with Google and your first 100 email checks are free, no card. Plans for bigger lists are on the pricing page.