What is the current DMARC requirement for Google and Yahoo?

As of February 2024, Google and Yahoo require bulk senders to have a valid DMARC record published, with a minimum policy of p=none . This allows for monitoring without enforcement.

Why should I move to p=quarantine or p=reject if it's not strictly required yet?

Moving to a stronger policy like p=quarantine or p=reject proactively protects your domain from spoofing and phishing. It also aligns with the anticipated future direction of email security, potentially improving your overall sender reputation and deliverability.

How do I safely transition my DMARC policy?

The safest way to transition is to start with p=none , meticulously analyze your DMARC reports, fix any authentication issues with legitimate senders, and then gradually increase your policy to p=quarantine and finally p=reject . It is important to monitor closely at each stage.

Will failing DMARC negatively impact my sender reputation?

Yes, consistent DMARC failures, especially under p=quarantine or p=reject policies, can lead to negative impacts on your IP or domain reputation with mailbox providers, affecting future deliverability.

Will Yahoo and Google require DMARC p=quarantine or p=reject in 2025? - Technical - Email deliverability - Knowledge base

The email landscape is constantly evolving, with major players like Google and Yahoo frequently updating their requirements to combat spam and enhance security. The big news that emerged in late 2023 was the push for all bulk senders (those sending over 5,000 emails per day) to implement robust email authentication, specifically SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. This came into effect in February 2024, with Microsoft joining similar requirements for May 2025.

However, a key point of discussion and speculation within the email community has been whether these major mailbox providers will escalate their DMARC requirements beyond a simple p=none policy to a stricter p=quarantine or p=reject policy in 2025. It is a logical next step to strengthen email security and combat phishing and spoofing more effectively.

While there hasn't been a definitive, publicly announced mandate from

Google or

Yahoo specifically stating a p=quarantine or p=reject requirement for 2025, the industry consensus and subtle signals suggest that moving towards these stricter policies is highly recommended and, in many cases, implicitly expected for optimal deliverability.

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The current requirements

As of February 2024, the primary DMARC requirement for bulk senders by both

Gmail and Yahoo Mail has been the presence of a valid DMARC record, even if it's set to p=none. This policy level instructs receiving mail servers to simply monitor emails that fail DMARC authentication without taking any specific action (like quarantining or rejecting them).

The goal of p=none is to allow senders to gather valuable DMARC reports. These reports provide insights into their email ecosystem, showing which emails are passing or failing authentication checks and identifying potential unauthorized sending. It's a crucial first step for understanding and securing your domain against spoofing attacks.

Example DMARC record with p=none policyDNS

_dmarc.yourdomain.com IN TXT "v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:dmarcreports@yourdomain.com; ruf=mailto:dmarcfailures@yourdomain.com;"

The inevitable shift towards stricter policies

While not officially mandated for 2025, there's a strong industry expectation that Google, Yahoo, and now

Microsoft may eventually push for stricter DMARC policies. The current p=none policy acts primarily as a monitoring mechanism and doesn't actively prevent fraudulent emails from reaching inboxes. To truly combat phishing and spoofing, stronger enforcement policies are necessary.

Many email security experts and even representatives from these companies have expressed that moving to p=quarantine or p=reject is a highly desirable goal. These policies provide actual protection by instructing receiving servers to either move unauthenticated emails to the spam folder (quarantine) or block them outright (reject). This proactive defense significantly reduces the risk of malicious emails reaching users.

P=quarantine policy

Action for failing emails: Instructs receiving servers to place emails that fail DMARC authentication into the recipient's spam or junk folder.
Benefit: Provides a balance between protection and deliverability, allowing legitimate emails to still potentially be seen if marked as spam, while still flagging suspicious mail.
Risk: If legitimate emails fail DMARC, they might end up in spam, reducing inbox placement.

P=reject policy

Action for failing emails: Instructs receiving servers to outright reject emails that fail DMARC authentication. These emails will not be delivered to the recipient's inbox or spam folder.
Benefit: Offers the highest level of protection against phishing and spoofing, ensuring fraudulent emails never reach end-users.
Risk: Any legitimate email that fails DMARC will be permanently lost, potentially causing critical communication failures. This can also affect sender reputation.

Preparing for the future: steps to take

Regardless of a formal 2025 mandate, transitioning your DMARC policy from p=none to p=quarantine or p=reject is a crucial step for any organization serious about email security and deliverability. This process should be gradual and data-driven to avoid unintended consequences.

The key is to diligently analyze your DMARC reports. These reports will show you if all your legitimate sending sources are properly authenticated with SPF and DKIM. Any failure indicates a need for adjustment. You should also ensure DKIM domain alignment and SPF alignment are correctly configured for all your sending domains.

Best practices for DMARC policy transition

Start with p=none: Monitor DMARC reports to ensure all legitimate mail passes authentication.
Analyze reports: Identify and fix any authentication issues (SPF, DKIM alignment) for authorized senders.
Gradual progression: Move to p=quarantine once confident in your authentication, continue monitoring, then transition to p=reject. Learn how to safely transition your DMARC policy.
Consider exceptions: Implement a lower percentage (e.g., pct=10) for p=quarantine or p=reject initially to apply the policy to only a fraction of non-compliant emails.

Beyond DMARC policies

While DMARC is a critical component of email security and deliverability, it's part of a larger ecosystem. Mailbox providers assess a multitude of factors when determining whether to deliver an email to the inbox, including your domain's reputation, engagement rates, content quality, and whether your domain or IP is on any blocklists (or blacklists).

Focusing solely on DMARC policy without addressing other aspects of email health can still lead to deliverability issues. Maintaining clean email lists, sending relevant content, and monitoring your sender metrics are equally important for long-term success.

Method	Purpose	Policy Impact (DMARC)
SPF	Authorizes sending IP addresses.	Checks if the sending IP is listed in your domain's SPF record. Essential for DMARC alignment.
DKIM	Verifies email content integrity and sender identity through cryptographic signatures.	Checks if the signature matches the sending domain. Critical for DMARC alignment.
DMARC	Provides policy instructions for unauthenticated emails and receives reports.	The p tag defines the action (none, quarantine, or reject) for failing emails.

Views from the trenches

Best practices

Always start with DMARC p=none and carefully analyze reports to identify all legitimate sending sources.

Prioritize fixing SPF and DKIM alignment issues for all authorized email senders before moving to stricter DMARC policies.

Gradually transition your DMARC policy from p=none to p=quarantine, and then to p=reject, monitoring the impact at each stage.

Regularly review your DMARC reports to catch new sending sources or configuration changes that could affect deliverability.

Consider using a DMARC reporting service to simplify data analysis and gain clear insights into your email authentication.

Common pitfalls

Jumping straight to p=reject without proper testing, which can block legitimate emails.

Not monitoring DMARC reports, leading to unawareness of authentication failures from authorized sources.

Failing to account for third-party senders (like marketing platforms or CRMs) in SPF and DKIM records.

Ignoring DMARC aggregate reports, which contain crucial information for identifying authentication issues.

Believing DMARC alone guarantees inbox placement, overlooking other factors like content and sender reputation.

Expert tips

A strong DMARC policy (p=quarantine or p=reject) helps protect your brand against phishing and spoofing attacks.

Even if not strictly mandated, a stricter DMARC policy signals to mailbox providers that you take email security seriously.

Many mailbox providers express a preference for stricter DMARC policies, as it aids their fight against malicious email.

While 2025 might seem rushed, proactively moving to stricter DMARC ensures your domain is prepared for future requirements.

Implementing DMARC is an ongoing process that requires continuous monitoring and occasional adjustments.

Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks says that the move to p=quarantine or p=reject in 2025 has been discussed in industry circles, but no official written announcement has been made yet.

July 30, 2024 - Email Geeks

Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks states that the requirement for p=quarantine or p=reject remains a strong logical supposition rather than a confirmed mandate.

July 30, 2024 - Email Geeks

The path forward

While Google and Yahoo haven't officially declared p=quarantine or p=reject as mandatory for 2025, the direction of email security is clear. The trend is towards stronger authentication and stricter enforcement to protect users from increasingly sophisticated phishing and spoofing attacks. The current requirements laid the groundwork for this evolution, allowing senders to gain familiarity with DMARC and clean up their sending practices.

It is prudent to proactively work towards a p=quarantine or even p=reject policy. This not only aligns with the likely future requirements but also significantly enhances your domain's security and trustworthiness, ultimately leading to better inbox placement and improved email deliverability.