How to Check MX Records

When email isn’t arriving or can’t be sent, the MX record is the first thing to suspect. Here is how to look it up and how to read the result.

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What is an MX record?

An MX (Mail eXchanger) record is a DNS setting that specifies which server receives email for a domain. When you send a message to info@example.com, the sending server looks up the MX record of example.com to decide where to deliver it.

How to check

Click “Look up MX records” below. Web dig opens with the record type already set to MX.
Enter the domain you want to check (for example example.com) and press “Look up”.
For the DNS server to ask, start with “Authoritative”. This shows exactly what you configured.

How to read the result

example.com.  3600  IN  MX  10 mx1.example.net.
example.com.  3600  IN  MX  20 mx2.example.net.

The number at the start is the priority, and the lower number is preferred. In the example above, mail goes to mx1 first, and mx2 is used only when it can’t be reached. If two records have the same priority, mail is spread between them.

Common pitfalls

No MX is returned: None is set. If you want to receive mail, add the MX records as your mail service instructs.
The MX target is a CNAME: An MX target cannot be a CNAME. Specify a hostname that has an A or AAAA record.
The target hostname has no IP address: The MX target must be a hostname that resolves to an A (or AAAA) record. Check it with the A type.
You still see an old value: Right after a change, public DNS servers may still have it cached. See how to check DNS propagation.
The domain doesn’t use email: You can also declare that it accepts no mail with a “Null MX” (0 .).

If you also care about sender authentication, check how to look up an SPF record, which is stored in a TXT record.

FAQ

Is it normal to have more than one MX record?

Yes. To provide backup servers, you list several with different priorities.

If I change the MX record, does mail switch over immediately?

Mail may keep going to the old destination until the TTL (the number of seconds a value is cached) runs out. Shortening the TTL before the change makes the switch faster.

Look up MX records

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Last updated: 2026-10-21