Set up your custom From address and verify DNS

This guide shows you how to send your organization’s email from your own address. You save the address in MapleGather, then publish DNS records in two rounds: first one record that proves your organization owns the domain, then the three records (SPF, DKIM, and DMARC) that let mail go out from it.

Who can do this: Admins who can manage email deliverability settings (organization owners by default).

Before you start

You need access to your domain’s DNS settings. This is usually your domain registrar (like Namecheap, GoDaddy, or Google Domains) or your DNS host.
Use an address at a domain your organization owns — for example, notifications@yourorg.org. Public email addresses (such as Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook, AOL, or AIM) and MapleGather’s own domains can’t be used, because no organization controls their DNS.
Each domain can belong to only one organization in MapleGather: the first organization to prove it owns the domain gets it. Saving an address doesn’t reserve its domain. Until your ownership record is found, nothing is reserved for you, and other organizations aren’t blocked either.
Until all three records verify, MapleGather sends your organization’s email from a functional fallback address — usually an address like riverside-club@notifications.maplegather.com, or MapleGather’s own no-reply@maplegather.com in some cases (for example, when your organization’s short name reads like a role mailbox such as support or billing). Your members still receive it. Once a domain is registered for your organization, the page shows which address your mail is going out from: Email is sending from a functional fallback, or Email is sending from MapleGather’s address when it’s MapleGather’s own sending address. While ownership is pending, the ownership card names the current sender instead (“Until then, mail keeps going out from …”). [amended pre-merge 2026-10-20, c21 E panel-r2] [amended pre-merge 2026-10-21, panel r1]

Steps

Save your From address

Go to Email deliverability (at /admin/email/deliverability).
In the From address field, enter the email address you want members to see as the sender — for example, notifications@yourorg.org.
Select Set up.

MapleGather saves the address and asks you to prove you own the domain. Nothing is registered with MapleGather’s email provider yet, and the domain isn’t reserved for your organization yet. If your organization already has a domain, that domain and its records stay as they are until the new domain is proven.

If you only changed the part before the @ of the From address you already use, there is nothing to prove: the new address is saved right away and you can skip the next section.

Prove you own the domain

The page shows a card headed Prove you own followed by your domain, with a Pending badge and one record: Type TXT, a Host (_maplegather-verify. followed by your domain — for example, _maplegather-verify.yourorg.org) and a Value (starting maplegather-verify=, followed by a long code generated for your organization and this domain). Use the Copy buttons to copy the Host and the Value.
At your DNS provider, add a TXT record with that Host and Value, and save it.
Back on Email deliverability (at /admin/email/deliverability), select Check ownership. While the page is open it also checks every 30 seconds and shows Checking for the ownership record automatically… (up to 20 times each time you open the page; then Automatic checks paused. Use Check ownership to check again.). If a check is refused in a way that waiting can’t change, the automatic checks stop and the line tells you what to do next — for example Automatic checks stopped. Change to an address at a domain your organization controls.

Until the check passes, nothing is reserved for your organization: if another organization proves the same domain first, it gets the domain. DNS changes usually show up within minutes, but can take up to 48 hours. The check doesn’t expire, so you can come back later. If the record isn’t found yet, the badge changes to Not found yet and the page says Ownership record not found yet and why; nothing changes. Publish the record (or correct it) and select Check ownership again.

The value is your organization’s own. Saving the same address again keeps it, so a record you’ve already published stays valid. If another organization publishes its own value for the same domain, that never proves the domain for you, and yours never proves it for them.

When the record is found, the domain becomes your organization’s. MapleGather registers it with its email provider, which creates your domain’s signing key, and the page shows your three DNS records. You can then remove the _maplegather-verify record.

Publish the three DNS records

Once ownership is proven, the page shows three record cards — SPF record, DKIM record, and DMARC record. Each card has a Type, a Host, and a Value; the Host and Value each have a Copy button.

Record	Type	Host
SPF (Return-Path)	CNAME	`pm-bounces.` followed by your domain — for example, `pm-bounces.yourorg.org`
DKIM	TXT	the name shown on the card, ending in `._domainkey.` and your domain
DMARC	TXT	`_dmarc.` followed by your domain — for example, `_dmarc.yourorg.org`

For each record, use the copy buttons to copy the Host and the Value from the card into your DNS provider.

Save each record at your DNS provider.

The SPF record is a CNAME on a separate bounce subdomain, so you don’t edit your domain’s existing SPF record.

Let MapleGather check the records

Return to Email deliverability (at /admin/email/deliverability). While the page is open and any record isn’t verified yet, it checks again every 30 seconds and shows Checking DNS again automatically…. The checks pause while the browser tab is hidden, and nothing is checked while the page is closed. [amended pre-merge 2026-10-20, c21 E panel-r2]
To check right away, select Verify all records, or select Verify on one record’s card.

DNS changes usually show up within minutes, but can take up to 48 hours. The automatic check runs up to 20 times each time you open the page. After that the page says Automatic checks paused. Use Verify all records to check again. — select Verify all records, or open the page again later. [amended pre-merge 2026-10-20, c21 E panel-r2]

Send a test email

Once at least one record is verified, a Your email address box appears below the DNS record cards. Enter your email address and select Send test email. The box is replaced by “Test sent — check your inbox.”
Check your inbox to confirm the email arrived and wasn’t flagged as spam. Until all three records verify, the test comes from the fallback address.

Verify

You’ll know setup is complete when the ownership record has been found, all three record cards show a green Verified badge and the page says Sending from your domain — “Mail goes out from” your From address. Until then, the page says Email is sending from a functional fallback and names the fallback address.

If something goes wrong

“Ownership record not found yet” — after Check ownership (or an automatic check), the page didn’t find your _maplegather-verify TXT record with your organization’s value, or couldn’t read your DNS. Nothing was reserved or changed. Check that the record’s Type is TXT and its Host and Value match the page exactly, then select Check ownership again. DNS changes can take up to 48 hours. [amended pre-merge 2026-10-21, c21 track BQ]
“Another organization proved this domain first, so it can’t be used here. Use an address at a different domain your organization controls.” — another organization in MapleGather proved it owns this domain before you did, so you can’t use it. This appears at Check ownership, and the automatic checks stop. The other organization is never named, and the domain stays registered to it — MapleGather has no way to move a proven domain to another organization. Change to an address at a domain your organization controls. [amended pre-merge 2026-10-21, c21 track BQ; 2026-11-01, c21 track CM]
“There’s no ownership check waiting. Save your From address again, then check ownership.” — there’s no ownership check to run (for example, it was withdrawn when the address was changed to the domain you already use, possibly in another tab). Enter the From address again and select Set up. [amended pre-merge 2026-10-21, c21 track BQ]
“Your record was found, but our email provider didn’t give a usable answer. Nothing is reserved yet — try again in a few minutes.” — your ownership record was found, but MapleGather’s email provider didn’t respond, or gave an answer MapleGather couldn’t use, just then. Nothing was reserved or changed, and your ownership record stays valid. The open page keeps checking automatically, or select Check ownership again in a few minutes. [amended pre-merge 2026-10-21, c21 track BQ; 2026-11-01, c21 track CM]
“Your record was found, but our email provider account isn’t connected on MapleGather’s side, so domains can’t be added right now. Nothing is reserved, and your email keeps going out from the address it uses now.” — MapleGather’s own email provider account isn’t connected, so no domain can be added right now. Waiting won’t change this, so the automatic checks stop: Automatic checks stopped. Checking again won’t help until MapleGather’s email provider account is connected. Your ownership record stays valid, and your email keeps going out from the address it uses now (your current verified domain, if you have one, or the fallback address). [amended 2026-11-01, c21 track CM]
“Our email provider can’t register this domain. Use a domain your organization controls.” — MapleGather’s email provider refused to register this domain after the ownership check. Nothing was reserved, and the automatic checks stop. Use an address at a different domain your organization controls. [amended pre-merge 2026-10-21, c21 track BQ; 2026-11-01, c21 track CM]
“Use an address at your organization’s own domain.” — the address is at a MapleGather domain or a public email provider, or at an internationalized domain that only looks like one of them (for example, maplegather.com spelled with a Cyrillic “а”). Use an address at your organization’s own domain. [amended pre-merge 2026-10-21, c21 track BQ: look-alike domains]
“AOL and AIM addresses hurt deliverability” — you entered an AOL or AIM address, and Set up stays unavailable. Use an address on your own domain instead.
“Our email provider already has a record for this domain that no organization here holds, so it can’t be added, and MapleGather doesn’t take over or remove such a record automatically. Use an address at a different domain.” — no organization in MapleGather holds this domain, but MapleGather’s email provider already has a record for it. That record may be an orphan that no organization here holds — possibly left by your own organization’s earlier attempt that timed out — or one registered from another MapleGather environment; MapleGather can’t tell which. MapleGather never takes a record like this over or removes it, and nothing in MapleGather can release it, so the automatic checks stop. Change to an address at a domain your organization controls. [amended pre-merge 2026-10-20, c21 E panel-r2; 2026-10-21, c21 track BQ: this now appears at the ownership check; 2026-11-01, c21 track CM]
“The email provider is unavailable. Try again in a few minutes.” — a check of your three records couldn’t reach MapleGather’s email provider. Nothing was changed; try again shortly.
“Another change to this From address is in progress. Try again in a moment.” — another change to your From address is still being saved. Wait a moment and select Check ownership again. [amended pre-merge 2026-10-21, c21 track BQ]
“Enter a valid email address, for example notifications@yourorg.example.” — check the address for typos.
“Set up a From address before verifying.” — the check was refused because no domain is registered for your organization yet — none was saved, or its ownership hasn’t been proven. Reload the page; if the ownership record is still shown, publish it and select Check ownership first. [amended 2026-10-21, c21 track BQ]
“Copy failed — select the text instead” — your browser didn’t allow copying. Select the Host or Value text and copy it yourself.
A record shows Failed — the card says why. A DKIM record that verified earlier can show Failed again if it’s later removed or changed at your DNS provider: “The DKIM TXT record at … is no longer published (or no longer matches). Publish it again — mail is not signed with your domain without it.” [amended pre-merge 2026-10-20, c21 E panel-r2] Check that the record’s Type, Host, and Value match the card exactly (no extra spaces). For DMARC, see DMARC verification failed.
Test email landed in spam — your records may not all be verified yet. Wait for all three to show Verified and send another test. See also Emails landing in spam.
“You don’t have permission” — your role doesn’t include permission to manage deliverability settings. Contact your organization’s primary admin.

Change your From address later

On Email deliverability (at /admin/email/deliverability), select Change From address, enter the new address, and select Set up.

Same domain (only the part before the @ changes): the new address takes effect right away. Your records and their status stay as they are, and no ownership check is needed. Any ownership check waiting for another domain is withdrawn.
A different domain: MapleGather first asks you to confirm it’s you: “For your security, changing your sending domain needs a more recent sign-in…”. Select Confirm identity, sign in again, and when you’re back, enter the new From address again and select Set up — the address you typed isn’t kept through the sign-in. Then prove you own the new domain (see Prove you own the domain). Your current domain and its records stay as they are until the new domain is proven. When Check ownership finds the record, the old domain is released, the new domain is registered, and its three records are shown; mail then goes out from the fallback address until the new domain’s records verify. [amended pre-merge 2026-10-20, c21 E panel-r2; 2026-10-21, c21 track BQ: the ownership round, and the current domain and its records stay as they are until it passes; panel r1: not “in use” — mail may be on the fallback]

If you save a different new domain while an ownership check is waiting, the new domain’s record replaces the waiting one. Saving the same waiting domain again keeps the same value, so a record you’ve already published stays valid.