sp= tag
The DMARC tag setting the policy for existing subdomains of the organizational domain, when it should differ from the domain's own p= policy.
What it means
sp= takes the same values as p=. Published at example.com, sp=quarantine applies to news.example.com, billing.example.com and any other subdomain that exists in DNS, while p= governs example.com itself. Without sp=, subdomains inherit p=.
It only takes effect in the record at the organizational domain. A record published at a subdomain governs that subdomain directly through its own p=, and sp= there is ignored.
One use: p=reject for the main domain while its subdomains stay at sp=none until their reports are clean. A single subdomain that needs a different policy can publish its own record instead. For subdomains that do not exist at all, np= can set a stricter policy.
Example
v=DMARC1; p=reject; sp=quarantine; rua=mailto:dmarc@example.comRelated terms
On this site
Sources
What this definition rests on. The wording is ours; the facts are theirs.
- RFC 9989: Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance (DMARC), section 4.7rfc-editor.org
- Google Workspace Admin Help: Set up DMARCknowledge.workspace.google.com
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