{"id":84886,"date":"2025-05-03T13:01:58","date_gmt":"2025-05-03T13:01:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailrelay.com\/blog\/2025\/05\/03\/how-to-meet-outlook-gmail-and-yahoo-requirements-to-keep-your-emails-out-of-spam\/"},"modified":"2026-10-07T18:20:19","modified_gmt":"2026-10-07T18:20:19","slug":"how-to-meet-outlook-gmail-and-yahoo-requirements-to-keep-your-emails-out-of-spam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailrelay.com\/en\/blog\/2025\/05\/03\/how-to-meet-outlook-gmail-and-yahoo-requirements-to-keep-your-emails-out-of-spam\/","title":{"rendered":"What Outlook, Gmail and Yahoo! Require to Keep Your Emails Out of Spam"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Sending bulk emails<\/strong> \u2013 such as newsletters, promotions or notifications \u2013 is a common practice for many companies and organizations. <\/p>\n\n

However, getting those messages into the inbox instead of the spam folder<\/strong> (junk mail) depends on meeting certain requirements<\/strong> set by the major email providers. <\/p>\n\n

More than requirements, we could think of them as best practices that keep the world from filling up with spam.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Outlook (Microsoft’s email service, formerly known as Hotmail\/Live) recently announced new conditions for high-volume senders<\/strong>, joining similar measures that Gmail and Yahoo! put in place starting in 2024.<\/p>\n\n

Remember, too, that at Mailrelay, <\/strong>we help you set all of this up correctly to improve your results.<\/p>\n\n\n

Outlook: new authentication requirements for bulk senders<\/h2>\n\n

Outlook.com (which covers @outlook.com, @hotmail.com and @live.com addresses, among others)<\/strong> is tightening its policies to protect users from spam and identity spoofing. <\/p>\n\n

Starting in May 2025, domains that send more than 5,000 emails a day<\/strong> will be required to meet certain authentication measures.<\/p>\n\n

This means that if your organization sends email in high volumes, Outlook will require you to set up security protocols for your emails, specifically SPF, DKIM and DMARC:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

\n

Meet Outlook, Gmail and Yahoo! requirements without the hassle<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mailrelay helps you set up SPF, DKIM and DMARC correctly to maximize your deliverability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
Discover Mailrelay<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

\u00b7 SPF (Sender Policy Framework): <\/h3>\n\n

It’s a record in your domain’s DNS that lists which servers or IP addresses are authorized to send emails on your behalf<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n

Outlook will require the SPF to “match” and approve the message for your sender domain.<\/p>\n\n

In other words, the server you send the email from must be included in your SPF record<\/strong>; otherwise, the email won’t pass this check.<\/p>\n\n

\u00b7 DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail): <\/h3>\n\n

It’s a system that adds a digital signature to every email you send<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n

Only the legitimate domain holds the key<\/strong> to generate that signature. <\/p>\n\n

Outlook now requires DKIM to be set up and the signature to be valid on bulk messages.<\/p>\n\n

This ensures the integrity of the message and confirms it hasn’t been altered along the way.<\/p>\n\n

\u00b7 DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance): <\/h3>\n\n

It’s a policy you publish on your domain to specify how emails that fail SPF\/DKIM should be handled.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n

Outlook will require at least a DMARC policy set to \u201cp=none\u201d (monitoring only)<\/strong>, correctly configured and aligned with your domain.<\/p>\n\n

Alignment means that the domain in the \u201cFrom\u201d field (the one the recipient sees) must match the domain authenticated by SPF or DKIM<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n

This prevents anyone from sending emails pretending to be your address.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

\u00b7 What happens if you don’t meet these requirements? <\/h3>\n\n

Microsoft announced that it will start routing non-compliant messages to the junk (spam) folder.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

In other words, if your domain sends many emails without proper SPF, DKIM, or DMARC, those emails will land in the Junk folder on Outlook.com instead of the inbox. <\/p>\n\n

This measure will begin just after May 5, 2025, giving senders time to adapt.<\/p>\n\n

Later, on a date yet to be announced, Outlook may start rejecting (blocking) those emails entirely if the problem persists.<\/p>\n\n

In short, to avoid Outlook sending your messages to spam, you must authenticate your email with these protocols as soon as possible.<\/p>\n\n

\u00b7 Beyond technical authentication, Outlook strongly recommends following good hygiene practices for bulk sending:<\/h3>\n\n