Why is my domain not verifying?

What to do when your domain verification is stuck.

If your domain is stuck in a pending or failed verification state, work through these common causes.

1. DNS propagation delay

DNS changes can take anywhere from a few minutes to 48 hours to propagate, depending on your provider. Most providers propagate within 30 minutes, but some take longer.

What to do: Wait 30 minutes, then click Verify Domain in the AgentMail Console to trigger a recheck. You can also use dnschecker.org to confirm your records are visible globally before retrying.

DNS providerTypical propagation time
Cloudflare1 to 5 minutes
Route 531 to 5 minutes
GoDaddy15 to 30 minutes
Namecheap15 to 30 minutes

2. Wrong record type

Make sure you are adding the correct record type as specified by AgentMail. A common mistake is adding a TXT record where a CNAME is needed, or vice versa.

RecordCorrect type
SPFTXT
DKIMCNAME
MXMX

Double check the records in the AgentMail Console under Domains to see the exact type and value required.

3. Extra quotes or spaces

Some DNS providers (like GoDaddy) automatically wrap TXT values in quotes. If you paste a value that already includes quotes, you end up with double-quoted values that fail verification.

What to do: Paste the value exactly as provided by AgentMail. If your DNS provider adds quotes automatically, do not add your own.

Route 53 is the opposite: it requires quotes around TXT values. If you omit them, the record will not validate.

4. Domain name auto-appended

Many DNS providers (Namecheap, GoDaddy, Cloudflare) automatically append your domain to the record name. If you enter agentmail._domainkey.yourcompany.com instead of just agentmail._domainkey, the actual record becomes agentmail._domainkey.yourcompany.com.yourcompany.com, which will fail.

What to do: Enter only the subdomain portion. For example, enter agentmail._domainkey, not the full hostname.

5. Conflicting records

CNAME records cannot coexist with other record types on the same name. If you have an existing TXT or A record on the same subdomain as your DKIM CNAME, verification may fail.

What to do: Check your DNS dashboard for conflicts on the DKIM selector subdomain and remove any conflicting records.

6. Nameservers pointing elsewhere

If your domain’s nameservers are pointed to a different provider than where you are adding records, the records will have no effect. For example, if your domain uses Cloudflare nameservers but you add records in the Namecheap panel, those records are ignored.

What to do: Add your DNS records at the provider that actually controls your nameservers.

Verification statuses

You can check your domain’s status in the AgentMail Console:

StatusMeaning
NOT_STARTEDClick Verify Domain to begin
PENDINGDNS records need to be added or corrected
INVALIDRecords are misconfigured; review the values
FAILEDRecords look correct but need a manual recheck; click Verify Domain again
VERIFYINGRecords are correct, authorization in progress
VERIFIEDDomain is ready

Still not working?

If you have checked all of the above and your domain is still not verifying, email support@agentmail.cc with your domain name and a screenshot of your DNS records. We can help diagnose the issue.