TXT records store plain text in your DNS zone. They are commonly used to verify domain ownership for services like Google and Microsoft, and to hold email authentication policies such as SPF, DKIM, and DMARC.
Add a TXT Record
- Open Zone Editor in cPanel and click Manage next to the domain.
- Click + Add Record and choose TXT Record.
- In Name, enter the value the service gives you. For ownership checks this is often just the root domain.
- In Record, paste the exact text string provided.
- Click Add Record.
Common TXT Uses
| Purpose | Typical value | | ------- | ------------- | | Site verification | google-site-verification=abc123 | | SPF | v=spf1 include:_spf.example.com ~all | | DMARC | v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:you@yourdomain.com |
Get the Value Right
- Paste the string exactly, with no extra spaces or quotation marks unless the provider includes them.
- For DMARC, the Name field is usually _dmarc rather than the root domain.
- Only keep one SPF record per domain. Multiple SPF records cause authentication to fail.
Verify the Record
After propagation, check it:
dig yourdomain.com TXT +short
The output should list your string. If a verification service still reports failure, wait for propagation to complete and confirm the value matches character for character.