~ (SoftFail) — SPF Qualifier
The SPF ~ qualifier (SoftFail) marks a match as suspicious but doesn't cause rejection. Used during SPF rollout and testing.
Type
Qualifier
Qualifier
Syntax
DNS Lookup
No — no extra lookup
No — no extra lookup
💬 What This Qualifier Does
The "~" qualifier produces a "SoftFail" result. Mail from unlisted senders is accepted but marked as suspicious (typically by adding an "X-Spam" or similar header). "~all" is the recommended qualifier while you're building out your SPF record and aren't yet confident all legitimate senders are covered.
When to Use This
- "~all" — safe default during initial SPF deployment
- "~all" — appropriate when mailing list forwarding is important and you can't use DMARC relaxed alignment
⚠️ Watch Out For
- SoftFail is not rejection — determined spammers can still deliver softfail mail.
- DMARC works correctly with ~all, but some DMARC-unaware filters treat it more leniently.
📚 RFC References
🔗 Related SPF Elements
🔧 Validate Your SPF Record
Check whether your current SPF record is valid and covers all your senders.