Orange (orange.fr and wanadoo.fr)
OFR_397/398: SPF error for the sender domain
Orange could not use your sender domain's SPF record, because it is broken or invalid. Check the SPF TXT record of the domain.
- Orange
- Provider
- Sources checked
- Author
At a glance
- Code
- OFR_397/398
- Who has to act
- The sender. The fix is on the sending side: your domain, your server or your list.
What it means
Codes 397 and 398 are SPF errors on the sender's domain: Orange looked up the SPF configuration in the domain's DNS TXT record and could not evaluate it. That differs from code 519, where the record works but does not authorise your IP. Orange requires SPF from every sender, so a broken record stops delivery. It suggests checking the record with an SPF lookup tool, and reminds senders who just edited DNS that caches can take up to 24 hours to expire.
Common causes
- The SPF record has a syntax error.
- The domain publishes more than one SPF record.
- The record needs more DNS lookups than SPF allows, or includes a domain that does not resolve.
How to fix it
- 01Look up the SPF record of your sender domain with an SPF checker.
- 02Fix the syntax, merge duplicate records into one, and reduce nested includes.
- 03If you changed DNS recently, allow time for caches to expire before retrying; Orange notes that TTLs are typically up to 24 hours.
Sources
What this page rests on, checked on 20 Oct 2026. The explanation is ours; the reply text is the server's.
- Orange Postmaster Page (SMTP Delivery Guidelines and Error Codes)postmaster.orange.fr
Related codes
- OFR_519Sending IP not authorised by SPF.Orange refused your mail because the sending IP is not authorised in your domain's SPF record to send for that domain.
- OFR_515DMARC failed, rejected by your policy.Your message failed DMARC, and Orange rejected it because your domain's DMARC policy asks for that.
Further reading
All 20 Orange codesEvery code in the wikiPaste your own bounce