Summary
If you’re running email campaigns, protecting your domain is more important than ever. Updating your email authentication to DMARCbis should be a top priority. DMARCbis builds on DMARC to stop cybercriminals from impersonating your brand and ensures your messages avoid spam folders.
With a proper DMARCbis setup, you gain full visibility into who is sending emails from your domain and can quickly fix any misconfigurations. Beyond security, it strengthens your brand’s reputation, making recipients more likely to trust and open your emails. In short, DMARCbis doesn’t just protect—it boosts the effectiveness of every campaign you send.
1) What is DMARC bis?
Because DMARC has limitations: complex setups can break it, forwarding emails often fail alignment, and some tags are confusing. DMARCbis is the upcoming upgrade to DMARC, developed by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).
It refines the original protocol, making email authentication easier to implement, more flexible, and better suited to modern email challenges. DMARCbis is the updated version of the email authentication standard DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance).
The original DMARC specification was published as RFC 7489 in 2015. Over time, implementation gaps, security issues, and operational lessons led the email community to revise it.
In short: DMARCbis is not a brand-new protocol, but a clarification, tightening, and modernization of DMARC.
2) What are the key benefits of DMARCbis?
- Standardized domain policy detection using DNS Tree Walk instead of the old PSL method.
- Simplified and clarified tags (deprecated: pct=, rf=, ri=; new: np=, psd=, t=).
- Smarter reporting for actionable insights.
- More control for domain owners over subdomains and complex setups.
👉 Think of DMARCbis as a polished, modern DMARC — same mission, better execution.
3) Why DMARCbis matter?
Even though DMARC has been critical since 2015, it struggles with:
- Complex organizational domains (like gov.uk).
- Public Suffix Domains.
- Emails that are forwarded or sent via third-party services.
DMARCbis solves these pain points by:
- Clarifying rules and guidance for senders and receivers.
- Allowing flexibility for diverse email environments.
- Improving reporting to monitor email flows and security.
In short: DMARCbis protects your brand, improves deliverability, and simplifies setup for modern email systems.
4) What are the key features of DMARCbis?
a) Updated Tags & Simplified Policies
- np= → Policy for non-existent or attacker-invented subdomains (common phishing tactic).
- psd= → Control behavior for Public Suffix Domains.
- t= → Testing mode for gradual adoption.
- Deprecated tags: pct=, rf=, ri=
Example Record: v=DMARC1; p=reject; sp=none; np=reject
- p=reject → strict policy on root domain
- sp=none → tolerate legitimate subdomains
- np=reject → reject emails using fake subdomains like secure-login.example.com
b) DNS Tree Walk Algorithm
DMARCbis replaces the old Public Suffix List method with a DNS Tree Walk, checking for DMARC records from the subdomain up to the top-level domain.
Example: schools.london.gov.uk
- _dmarc.schools.london.gov.uk
- _dmarc.london.gov.uk
- _dmarc.gov.uk
- _dmarc.uk
Stops when a policy is found — enabling precise and flexible domain control.
c) Better reporting
- Stricter aggregate reports with an updated XML format.
- Inclusion of new tags for actionable insights.
- Helps monitor email flows, unauthorized senders, and potential phishing attempts.
5) What are the key takeaways of DMARCbis?
In summary, DMARCbis isn’t just a technical update—it’s an opportunity to secure your domain, protect your brand from phishing, and improve email deliverability.
With the introduction of the np= tag, standardized domain checks, and better handling of modern email flows, DMARCbis makes email authentication easier, more flexible, and more reliable.
Don’t let your email infrastructure fall behind.
👉 Book a consultation with MailSoar, the experts in email deliverability, to audit and upgrade your systems to DMARCbis. Ensure your emails reach the inbox while safeguarding your online reputation.
Eager to learn more about email deliverability and how MailSoar can help secure and optimize your emails?
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