A SPF TempError means a transient DNS lookup failed during SPF evaluation. Unlike a PermError, the result is not necessarily wrong — but receivers may defer or fail your message until the lookup succeeds.
Identify which include or mechanism is timing out, and either remove it or replace it with a more reliable provider record.
During SPF evaluation, a receiver issues DNS queries for each include, a, mx, and exists mechanism. If any of those lookups time out, return SERVFAIL, or hit a transient resolver issue, the result is "TempError" — a temporary failure. The receiver doesn't treat this as a hard fail or a hard pass; it usually defers the message and retries later, or applies its own policy.
Frequent TempErrors mean some legitimate emails will be delayed or rejected, and DMARC alignment can fail intermittently. It often points to either a flaky third-party SPF include or a DNS server issue at your authoritative DNS provider. Persistent TempErrors degrade deliverability silently.
Use dig to query each include's SPF record and check whether any are returning SERVFAIL or timing out.
dig +short TXT _spf.example-include.com
dig +short TXT yourdomain.comTempErrors can be resolver-specific. Test from public resolvers (Google 8.8.8.8, Cloudflare 1.1.1.1) and the receiving mail server's resolver if known.
dig @8.8.8.8 TXT yourdomain.com
dig @1.1.1.1 TXT yourdomain.comWalk through each include in your SPF record. Any include that returns no record, NXDOMAIN, or times out is the culprit. Pay special attention to defunct services or typo'd hostnames.
If the include belongs to a service you no longer use, remove it. If you do use the service, contact the provider — their SPF hosting may be the issue.
v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com include:spf.olddefunctservice.com ~allv=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~allAfter changing the record, check authentication results in headers of incoming test emails. Monitor your DMARC aggregate reports for sustained spf=pass rates.
After making changes, use our free scanner to verify the fix is working correctly. DNS changes can take up to 48 hours to propagate, but most propagate within minutes.
No. PermError is a permanent failure (bad syntax, too many lookups, multiple records) and the result is treated as hard fail. TempError is a transient DNS failure — receivers typically defer or retry, and the result depends on the receiver's policy.
Most receivers will defer (4xx) on TempError rather than hard-bounce. But persistent TempErrors lead to delivery delays and, eventually, give-up bounces after the queue ages out.
Run dig against each include in your SPF record from multiple resolvers. The one that returns SERVFAIL, times out, or returns NXDOMAIN is your culprit.
More SPF resources — tools to verify, setup guides, deeper reading, and compliance context.