What Is a TXT Record in DNS?

TL;DR
A TXT record stores arbitrary text strings associated with a domain name.
It's one of the most flexible DNS types and is widely used for:

Email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC)
Domain ownership verification (Google, Microsoft, SSL providers)
Custom configuration or notes

TXT values are quoted strings (up to 255 chars each); multiple strings concatenate automatically.

Look up TXT records

Enter a domain name to lookup TXT records

View full DNS lookup tool with advanced options →

How TXT Records Work

When queried, all TXT records for a name are returned.
Resolvers concatenate multiple strings into one value (no extra spaces added).
TXT is "unstructured" applications interpret the content (e.g., SPF parsers look for v=spf1).

Common Use Cases

Email authentication: SPF (authorized senders), DKIM (signatures), DMARC (policy & reporting)
Domain verification: proving ownership to Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Let's Encrypt, AWS, etc.
Site verification: Google Search Console, Bing Webmaster Tools
Custom data: application configs, security policies, human-readable notes
Wildcard TXT: apply verification to all subdomains (rare)

How to Lookup TXT Records

dig example.com TXT

nslookup -type=TXT example.com

Record Format

NAME          TTL    CLASS  TYPE  VALUE
example.com.  3600   IN     TXT   "v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all"

Values in quotes if they contain spaces
Multiple quoted strings allowed (concatenated)
No limit on number of TXT records per name

Valid Examples

Basic SPF

example.com.  TXT  "v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all"

Long SPF (split strings)

example.com.  TXT  "v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com include:mailgun.org" "include:sendgrid.net ~all"

DMARC policy

example.com.  TXT  "v=DMARC1; p=quarantine; pct=100; rua=mailto:[email protected]"

Domain verification

example.com.  TXT  "google-site-verification=ABC123XYZ789abcdef"

DKIM public key (selector-based)

selector._domainkey.example.com.  TXT  "v=DKIM1; k=rsa; p=MIGfMA0GCSqGSIb3DQEBAQUAA4GNADCBiQKBgQD..."

TXT vs Other Record Types

Feature	TXT	A / AAAA	MX
Purpose	Arbitrary text / config	IP address mapping	Mail server routing
Email auth support	Yes (SPF/DKIM/DMARC)	No	Yes (delivery)
Multiple allowed	Yes	Yes	Yes
Root domain	Yes	Yes	Yes
Structured parsing	Application-specific	No	Priority-based