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Verify a Domain on Amazon Route 53

Add Notify SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records in Route 53 hosted zones.

Production sends from a custom from address require a verified domain. If your DNS lives in Amazon Route 53, add the records Notify shows when you create a domain.

Before you start

  1. Open Domains and add your domain
  2. Copy the SPF, DKIM, and DMARC values from Notify
  3. Open the Route 53 console → Hosted zones → your zone

Exact names and values come from the Notify dashboard.

Add records in Route 53

  1. Click Create record
  2. For each Notify requirement, set:

| Notify field | Route 53 field | | --- | --- | | Host / Name | Record name (relative to the zone; leave blank for apex when instructed) | | Type | Record type (TXT, CNAME, etc.) | | Value / Target | Value |

  1. Routing policy: Simple routing
  2. Create the record

Repeat for SPF, DKIM, and DMARC.

Route 53-specific tips

  • TXT quoting — Route 53 often wraps TXT values in quotes automatically. If Notify’s value already includes quotes, paste the raw string Notify shows and let the console format it. Avoid double-encoding.
  • Long TXT / DKIM — Route 53 splits long strings; that is normal. Do not manually break DKIM into separate records unless Notify instructs you to.
  • Existing SPF — merge Notify into a single SPF TXT. Multiple SPF records fail authentication.
  • Subdomains — if you send from mail.acme.com, create/verify that hostname as Notify directs; records may not sit at the apex.
  • Propagation — Route 53 is usually quick, but allow time for Notify’s checker and any resolvers caching old answers.

CLI example (optional)

After you have the exact name/type/value from the dashboard:

aws route53 change-resource-record-sets \
  --hosted-zone-id Z1234567890ABC \
  --change-batch file://notify-dns.json

notify-dns.json shape:

{
  "Comment": "Notify domain verification",
  "Changes": [
    {
      "Action": "UPSERT",
      "ResourceRecordSet": {
        "Name": "_dmarc.acme.com",
        "Type": "TXT",
        "TTL": 300,
        "ResourceRecords": [{ "Value": "\"v=DMARC1; p=none;\"" }]
      }
    }
  ]
}

Replace names and values with what Notify provides.

Check verification

  1. Return to Domains
  2. Wait for status verified
  3. Send a production test with your custom from

If verification fails, confirm the hosted zone is authoritative for the domain (nameservers at the registrar point at Route 53) and that SPF is not duplicated.

Where to next?