Should I change my DMARC policy from p=none to p=reject?
Michael Ko
Co-founder & CEO, Suped
Published 15 Nov 2025
Updated 15 Nov 2025
8 min read
Many email senders start their DMARC journey with a policy of p=none, which is an excellent first step for gaining visibility into their email ecosystem without affecting deliverability. However, the ultimate goal for most organizations is to move to a more enforced policy, typically p=reject. This transition significantly enhances protection against email spoofing and phishing attacks. The question is, should you change your DMARC policy from p=none to p=reject, and if so, how do you do it safely?
The short answer is yes, you should generally aim for a p=reject policy to maximize your domain's security. However, this move requires careful planning and robust DMARC reporting to avoid disrupting legitimate email traffic. Prematurely moving to p=reject without a full understanding of your email streams can lead to severe deliverability issues, where important emails could be blocked. It's not as simple as just changing a TXT record and being done with it.
Understanding DMARC policies: none, quarantine, and reject
DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance) uses three main policy options: none, quarantine, and reject. Each policy dictates how receiving mail servers should handle emails that fail DMARC authentication. Understanding these differences is fundamental to a safe transition.
The p=none policy is a monitoring-only mode. It instructs receiving servers to deliver emails even if they fail DMARC authentication. This policy is primarily used to gather DMARC reports (RUA and RUF) that provide visibility into how your domain's emails are performing across the internet. It's a crucial first step for anyone implementing DMARC, allowing you to identify all legitimate sending sources and correct any authentication issues without impacting deliverability. For more information on this policy, read about the implications of a DMARC policy of p=none. Many guides, including Google's DMARC setup instructions, recommend starting here.
The p=quarantine policy tells receiving servers to accept emails that fail DMARC, but to place them in the recipient's spam or junk folder, or flag them for additional scrutiny. This is a progressive step towards enforcement, allowing you to mitigate the impact of spoofed emails while still having a chance to recover legitimate emails that might have failed authentication. It acts as a soft enforcement stage, where emails are not outright rejected but are treated with suspicion.
The p=reject policy is the strongest enforcement level. It instructs receiving servers to completely reject emails that fail DMARC authentication, preventing them from reaching the recipient's inbox or spam folder. This policy provides the highest level of protection against malicious emails impersonating your domain. However, this is why careful preparation is paramount, as misconfigured legitimate emails will also be rejected. We have a detailed guide on what the DMARC p=reject policy means.
Moving to p=reject is a critical step for comprehensive email security, but it's essential to progress through these policies systematically. Jumping directly to reject without adequate monitoring is like driving blindfolded, risking significant deliverability issues for your legitimate emails. This progression ensures you have full visibility and control over your email authentication before implementing strict enforcement.
Why DMARC reporting is critical before enforcement
Before even considering a shift away from p=none, setting up DMARC reporting is non-negotiable. Without reports, you simply don't have the data to understand how your emails are authenticating or which senders are using your domain. This lack of visibility means you can't identify legitimate email streams that might fail authentication, nor can you detect unauthorized spoofing attempts.
DMARC reports provide invaluable insights into your entire email ecosystem. They show which emails passed SPF and DKIM, which failed, and crucially, which sources are sending mail using your domain. This includes not just your primary email marketing platform, but also transactional email services, HR systems, internal communications, and any other third-party services. Neglecting to collect and analyze these reports before moving to p=reject can lead to legitimate emails from unknown or misconfigured sources being blocked, causing significant business disruption and deliverability issues.
To effectively monitor your DMARC reports, you need a robust DMARC reporting solution. Suped offers a comprehensive platform with the most generous free plan available, helping you make sense of complex DMARC data. Our AI-powered recommendations provide actionable insights to identify and fix authentication issues, ensuring your legitimate mail is delivered. With Suped, you get real-time alerts and a unified platform that brings together DMARC, SPF, and DKIM monitoring with blocklist and deliverability insights, making the transition to p=reject safer and more efficient. Find out when and why you should switch from p=none to an enforcement policy.
Without proper DMARC reporting, moving to p=reject is a gamble. It is crucial to have a clear understanding of your email authentication landscape to avoid negative impacts on your email deliverability and business communications. You wouldn't want important customer emails or internal communications to be blocked because you didn't know they were failing authentication.
Benefits and risks of DMARC p=reject
Implementing a DMARC p=reject policy provides the highest level of security for your domain. It directly combats email spoofing and phishing by instructing recipient mail servers to outright reject unauthorized emails claiming to be from your domain. This means fewer fraudulent emails reach inboxes, protecting your brand's reputation and your recipients from malicious attacks. It also improves the overall trust in your domain, which can positively impact the deliverability of your legitimate emails.
However, the primary risk of p=reject lies in potential misconfiguration. If legitimate email sending sources (like an ESP or your internal mail server) are not correctly configured with SPF and DKIM, or if they fail DMARC alignment, emails sent from these sources will be rejected. This can lead to a significant loss of legitimate email traffic, impacting marketing campaigns, customer service, and critical business communications. This is why thorough testing and continuous monitoring are essential. Learn more about how to use DMARC p=reject to combat email spoofing.
The key is to mitigate these risks by having a clear, data-driven strategy for your DMARC implementation. This includes not only identifying all your email sending sources but also ensuring they are properly authenticated with SPF and DKIM, and that they achieve DMARC alignment. Without this meticulous preparation, moving to p=reject can do more harm than good. It is crucial to understand what DMARC settings you should use for your domain.
Steps to safely transition to DMARC p=reject
Successfully moving to a p=reject policy is a phased process that requires careful attention to detail. Skipping steps or rushing the process can result in severe deliverability issues for your legitimate emails. Our recommended approach involves three key phases, each with specific actions to ensure a smooth and secure transition.
Start with p=none and collect DMARC reports. If you currently have no DMARC record, or one with p=none, this initial phase is about gaining visibility. Set up your DMARC record with p=none and specify RUA (aggregate) and RUF (forensic) reporting addresses. Use a DMARC monitoring tool like Suped to analyze these reports. Identify all legitimate email sending services using your domain. Ensure all these services are properly configured with SPF and DKIM and that they achieve DMARC alignment. This phase might take weeks or even months, depending on the complexity of your email infrastructure.
Transition to p=quarantine (gradually). Once you are confident that all your legitimate email sources are passing DMARC authentication and alignment, you can move to p=quarantine. Consider using the pct tag to gradually increase the percentage of emails subject to the quarantine policy, e.g., p=quarantine; pct=10. Continue to monitor your DMARC reports closely during this phase to catch any unforeseen issues with legitimate emails being quarantined. Adjust your pct value incrementally as you build confidence.
Move to full p=reject. Once you have successfully transitioned through p=quarantine with no issues, you can confidently set your policy to p=reject and remove the pct tag. Continue vigilant DMARC monitoring to ensure ongoing compliance and quickly address any new issues that may arise. This is the ultimate stage of DMARC enforcement, providing maximum protection against brand impersonation.
Example DMARC record progressionTXT
_dmarc.yourdomain.com IN TXT "v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:reports@yourdomain.com"
_dmarc.yourdomain.com IN TXT "v=DMARC1; p=quarantine; pct=10; rua=mailto:reports@yourdomain.com"
_dmarc.yourdomain.com IN TXT "v=DMARC1; p=quarantine; pct=100; rua=mailto:reports@yourdomain.com"
_dmarc.yourdomain.com IN TXT "v=DMARC1; p=reject; rua=mailto:reports@yourdomain.com"
This phased approach minimizes the risk of inadvertently blocking legitimate emails and allows you to progressively strengthen your domain's email security. Remember, DMARC is not a set-it-and-forget-it solution, but an ongoing process of monitoring and adjustment. You can find a more comprehensive guide on how to safely transition your DMARC policy on our knowledge base.
Views from the trenches
Best practices
Always begin with a DMARC policy of p=none to collect reports and understand your email ecosystem.
Utilize DMARC reporting tools to gain clear visibility into all sending sources and their authentication status.
Ensure all legitimate email streams are fully authenticated with SPF and DKIM and achieve DMARC alignment before moving to enforcement.
Gradually increase DMARC enforcement using the pct tag when transitioning from p=none to p=quarantine, and then to p=reject.
Common pitfalls
Switching directly to p=reject without monitoring can cause legitimate emails to be blocked, disrupting communications.
Overlooking third-party senders, such as marketing automation platforms or HR systems, that use your domain.
Not having a DMARC reporting mechanism in place, leaving you blind to authentication failures.
Believing DMARC implementation is a one-time setup rather than an ongoing monitoring process.
Expert tips
DMARC is not just for an ESP, it affects every possible sender of mail using your domain.
A DMARC policy of p=reject will also help prevent exact domain impersonation.
DMARC reporting is crucial for catching spoofers and also for identifying when email authentication settings go wrong.
Even if your domain doesn't send email, setting p=reject is a good idea to prevent impersonation.
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks says that the long-term goal for DMARC should definitely be a reject policy. However, this should only happen after implementing reporting and having a clear way to monitor all activities related to the domain. This helps identify when email authentication settings might be incorrect, which could negatively impact deliverability after moving to p=reject.
2023-10-23 - Email Geeks
Marketer view
Marketer from Email Geeks says that DMARC is a journey, and authentication and alignment are key for the future of email. It's not as simple as just creating a TXT record and being done with it.
2023-10-23 - Email Geeks
Securing your domain with DMARC enforcement
Transitioning your DMARC policy from p=none to p=reject is a highly recommended step to bolster your domain's email security and protect against prevalent threats like spoofing and phishing. While p=none is a valuable starting point for monitoring, it offers no protection, making enforcement policies essential for true security. The journey to p=reject should always be gradual and data-driven, relying heavily on consistent DMARC reporting and analysis.
By diligently monitoring your DMARC reports, identifying all legitimate sending sources, and ensuring their proper authentication and alignment, you can confidently move to a p=reject policy without risking legitimate email deliverability. Platforms like Suped are designed to simplify this complex process, offering the tools and insights you need to secure your domain's email communications effectively. Embracing a robust DMARC enforcement policy is not just a technical upgrade, but a strategic move to safeguard your brand's integrity and ensure your emails reach their intended recipients.
