Quick answer
Set the customer-facing sender address and authenticate its domain so Shopify can send branded messages reliably. Sender authentication is separate from providing an inbox that can receive customer replies.
Applies to
For the owner or authorized staff of the selected Shopify store, with the permissions needed for this task. Shopify hosts the store separately from a cPanel hosting account. Features and workflows depend on the current Shopify plan, theme and apps.
Before you begin
Use an address your business controls and can receive mail at. Confirm who manages the domain's DNS and preserve the existing email provider's records.
What to do
- Open Settings > Notifications and review Sender email. Distinguish it from Store email, which is used for store administration and exports.
- Choose the domain-authentication action and copy every CNAME record currently shown by Shopify into the authoritative DNS provider.
- Review the domain's DMARC record with your email administrator. Do not create a second DMARC record or replace an existing policy without considering other authorized senders.
- Allow time for DNS updates, then return to Shopify to check authentication status. Send a reviewed test notification to an inbox you control.
Check the result
Check the visible sender, delivery, links, and reply destination. A successful incoming mailbox test alone does not verify Shopify's outbound authentication.
If the problem continues
If authentication fails, compare the exact record names and values with Shopify's current screen. Ask support to check the public DNS results. Do not paste mailbox credentials or change MX records to solve a sender-authentication issue.
Keep other domain senders working
Shopify supplies the records for its notification sender. Your mailbox, newsletter and website forms may use other systems. Review the domain's authentication inventory and the SPF, DKIM and DMARC guides before replacing a policy or selector used by another service.
Related help
- Understand SPF, DKIM and DMARC for your business domain
- Find why a Shopify order confirmation or shipping email is missing
- Connect an existing domain to Shopify while preserving email
Official Shopify references
Reviewed October 31, 2026. This is an original merchant support guide based on the official references above. Shopify interfaces, rollout availability, permissions, and plan features can change.
