Setting Up DKIM for Exact Hosting Email

DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) attaches a digital signature to the mail you send so receiving servers can verify the message genuinely came from your domain and was not altered in transit. Together with SPF and DMARC, DKIM is one of the three records that keep your mail out of spam folders. This article explains how to set up DKIM for Exact Hosting email.

About DKIM and Exact Hosting email

When you send a message, your mail server signs it with a private key. The matching public key is published in your domain's DNS as a TXT record at a special name called a selector. The receiving server looks up that public key and checks the signature. If it matches, the message passes DKIM.

How you set DKIM up depends on your product:

• Enhanced Email — a DKIM key is generated for your domain on the email platform, and you publish the provided public key as a TXT record.
• cPanel email — cPanel's Email Deliverability tool can generate and install DKIM for you automatically when the domain's DNS is managed on the server.

Note: DKIM works best alongside SPF and DMARC. If you have not set those up, see Setting Up SPF Records for Exact Hosting Email and Understanding Gmail, Microsoft, and Yahoo DMARC Requirements for Hosted Email.

Before you begin

• Access to your domain's DNS. Either Exact Hosting DNS Management or the registrar where the domain is hosted.
• Your DKIM public key and selector. For Enhanced Email, obtain these from your email administration area. For cPanel email, the Email Deliverability tool provides them.
• Confirmation of which product you use. Enhanced Email or cPanel email.

Option A: cPanel email — use the Email Deliverability tool

If your domain's mail and DNS are on a cPanel server, cPanel can handle DKIM for you.

1. Sign in to the Exact Hosting portal and open cPanel. (See Setting Up SPF Records for Exact Hosting Email for the path into cPanel.)
2. In cPanel, open Email Deliverability.
3. Find your domain in the list and review its DKIM status.
4. If DKIM shows as missing or invalid and your DNS is managed on this server, click Repair (or Manage, then install the suggested DKIM record). cPanel generates the key and installs the TXT record automatically.
5. If your DNS is hosted elsewhere, cPanel shows you the exact TXT record to copy. Add it at your DNS host, then return and re-check.

Option B: Enhanced Email — publish the DKIM TXT record

For Enhanced Email, obtain the DKIM public key and selector for your domain, then publish them as a TXT record.

1. Obtain your domain's DKIM public key and selector.
2. Sign in to your DNS host (Exact Hosting DNS Management or your registrar).
3. Add a new TXT record:

4. Save the record.

Warning: Paste the public key exactly as provided, with no added spaces or line breaks. A single altered character makes the DKIM signature fail to verify.

Step: Verify DKIM is working

1. Allow time for DNS to propagate — up to 24 to 48 hours.
2. Send a test message to an address you can inspect, or use a public DKIM checker.
3. In a received message, view the headers and look for DKIM=pass in the authentication results.

Tip: Many free tools let you send a message to a test address and report back on SPF, DKIM, and DMARC together. They are the quickest way to confirm all three are aligned.

Next steps

• Complete your authentication trio. With DKIM in place, confirm SPF and DMARC are also configured.
• Improve overall deliverability. Review Exact Hosting Email Deliverability Best Practices.
• Landing in spam? See Reducing Spam Scores When Sending Email.

Questions? Contact Exact Hosting Support.