Why is my support address not verified?

<h2 id="h_01HD43YM51F9CY1CE0D4A0BTFZ">Issue symptoms</h2><p>After adding an external support address to Zendesk Support, your email status shows an error warning in the Admin Center. You may see one or both of the following messages:</p><ul>
<li class="wysiwyg-list-bold" data-list-item-id="e67a67c676b01b122df6f9fcb501bf42f"><strong>Forwarding check failed</strong></li>
<li class="wysiwyg-list-bold" data-list-item-id="ed5bb18fee484b7bb7ffbf6ad87bbedc5"><strong>SPF record check failed</strong></li>
</ul><hr><h2 id="h_01HD43YM51305YDPQG5BHDPJPY">Resolving "Forwarding check failed"</h2><p>This error means Zendesk sent a verification email ("ping") to your custom email address (e.g., <code>support@yourdomain.com</code>), but it was not redirected back to your Zendesk account.</p><h3 id="h_01M1HF9AAPGYXCQ398PVB5JHEZ">Step 1: Verify your forwarding rule setup</h3><p>Log in to your email provider (e.g., Microsoft 365, Google Workspace) and ensure that an automatic forwarding rule is active, sending all incoming mail to your Zendesk system address (e.g., <code>support@subdomain.zendesk.com</code>).</p><h3 id="h_01M1HF9AAPYWH2EK6E4MNPP248">Step 2: Check for external forwarding restrictions (Microsoft 365 Users)</h3><p>By default, Microsoft 365 blocks automatic external email forwarding. If you use Exchange/M365, your admin must enable automatic forwarding in the <strong>Defender Security &amp; Compliance Center</strong> under <em>Anti-spam outbound policy</em>.</p><h3 id="h_01M1HF9AAP5Z53RSMYYJX9M5CK">Step 3: Test with a manual email</h3><p>Send an email from a personal or alternative address directly to your external support address:</p><ul>
<li data-list-item-id="e35d6df547715c340ad7f4155ad05d05f">
<strong>If no ticket is created:</strong> Your email forwarding rule is incomplete or blocked by your mail server's spam filter. Contact your email administrator.</li>
<li data-list-item-id="e45fb57f009665f7465fd9f5fe198e740">
<strong>If a ticket IS created:</strong> Your forwarding is working, but Zendesk's verification ping was delayed or filtered. Return to Zendesk Admin Center and click <strong>Retry verification</strong>.</li>
</ul><p>For detailed, provider-specific setup steps, see: <a href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408886828698-Forwarding-incoming-email-to-Zendesk-Support" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Forwarding incoming email to Zendesk Support</a>.</p><hr><h2 id="h_01M1HF9AAPEDFD2BNG2T9VFX15">Resolving "SPF record check failed"</h2><p>An SPF (Sender Policy Framework) error does not block incoming emails, but it prevents Zendesk from sending outbound notifications using your custom domain. Without a valid SPF record, emails sent from Zendesk may end up in your customers' spam folders.</p><h3 id="h_01M1HF9AAQV55PPP9Z5AGYDGQQ">Step 1: Locate your DNS TXT record</h3><p>Log in to your domain registrar or DNS hosting provider (e.g., Cloudflare, GoDaddy, Namecheap, Route 53) and find your existing <code>TXT</code> record starting with <code>v=spf1</code>.</p><h3 id="h_01M1HF9AAQ8MJKJHSC77SBG8NE">Step 2: Add the Zendesk SPF mechanism</h3><p>Update your existing SPF record to include <code>include:mail.zendesk.com</code> before the terminating <code>~all</code> or <code>-all</code> tag.</p><p><strong>Example SPF Record:</strong></p><pre class="language-auto">v=spf1 include:spf.protection.outlook.com include:mail.zendesk.com ~all</pre><div style="background-color: #f9f9f9; border-left: 4px solid #f0b37e; margin: 15px 0; padding: 10px 15px;">
<p><strong>Important DNS Rules:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li data-list-item-id="ef5d45438a520c0a131776a1c695c913f">
<strong>Do NOT create multiple SPF records:</strong> Having more than one TXT record starting with <code>v=spf1</code> on the same domain invalidates SPF. Merge all includes into a single record.</li>
<li data-list-item-id="eaca8e0ec7413cb70f81e5414a00cc696">
<strong>Propagation time:</strong> DNS changes can take up to 24–48 hours to propagate worldwide before Zendesk can verify the change.</li>
</ul>
</div><p>For full details on SPF configuration, see: <a href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408832543770-Setting-up-SPF-for-Zendesk-to-send-email-on-behalf-of-your-email-domain" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Allowing Zendesk to send email on behalf of your email domain</a>.</p><hr><h2 id="h_01M1HF9AAQ91A3ZGFNJM10ANS8">Still having issues?</h2><p>If you have verified your forwarding rule, enabled outbound forwarding, and updated your SPF TXT record, but the error persists, please contact your email administrator or domain host to verify there are no active mail-flow restrictions or propagation delays.</p><p>
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<p>If you would like to reevaluate your email setup and start over, click on the button below to navigate to our in-product guide.</p>
<div class="user-redirect-dropdown">
<p><input class="user-redirect-relativePath" type="hidden" value="/admin/channels/talk_and_email/email/?pendo=DPLVYvcgMppwFFjtjbofGFl1Qb0"> <button class="user-redirect-dropbtn arrow">Go to my account</button></p>
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<div class="user-redirect-option user-redirect-inactive" id="user-redirect-option-1">
<input class="user-redirect-input-field card-text" placeholder="subdomain" required="Please enter a subdomain" type="text"><span class="user-redirect-input-mdl-txt">.zendesk.com</span> <input class="user-redirect-relativePath" type="hidden" value="/admin/channels/talk_and_email/email/?pendo=DPLVYvcgMppwFFjtjbofGFl1Qb0"> <button class="user-redirect-submit-btn">Go to my account</button>
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<h2 id="h_01KXDZP2KX83KT800KRTA273VM">
Why is my external support address not verified? Why does
my email address show "Forwarding check failed"? Why am I
getting an email verification error?
</h2>
<p>
This error occurs because Zendesk Support sends a ping from
your account to the linked support address. If you set up
your forwarding rules correctly within your email domain,
the ping returns to the account and verifies the address.
</p>
<h2 id="h_01KXDZP2KXYQEYN2JCYCMCYYD4">
How do I fix a "Forwarding check failed" error? How do I
verify my external support email address?
</h2>
<ol>
<li>
Verify that the forwarding rules within your email domain
are set up correctly.
</li>
<li>
Contact your email administrator or email provider for
further assistance if the error message persists.
</li>
<li>
Click on <strong>Go to my account</strong> to use the
in-product guide if you want to reevaluate your email
setup and start over.
</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="h_01KXDZP2KXEF7VDTJTNZRZW310">
Why am I getting an error for the SPF record check? Can I
send outgoing notifications without an SPF record? What does
an SPF record do?
</h2>
<p>
Zendesk does not require an SPF record to send outgoing notifications.
The SPF record allows Zendesk to send emails from your domain.
In the absence of an SPF record, the email shows as originating
from Zendesk. If you receive an error for the SPF record
check while forwarding functions correctly, make sure that
there is an SPF record set up for that address.
</p>
</details>
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