Amazon SES Adds Support for Custom MAIL FROM Domains

Posted on: Mar 14, 2016

To enable you to maximize your email authentication opportunities, you can now specify the MAIL FROM domain of emails you send with Amazon SES. The MAIL FROM address, also called the "envelope MAIL FROM," is the address that the sending mail server (Amazon SES) specifies to a receiving mail server to indicate the source of the message. Whereas you have always been able to specify the address that recipients see in their inboxes (the "From" address from the email header), this is the first time that Amazon SES enables you to specify the MAIL FROM domain. 

Amazon SES sets the MAIL FROM domain to its own value unless you choose to use your own, which you might do to enable your mail to comply with Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance (DMARC) in more than one way. Previously, you could achieve DMARC compliance with Amazon SES only by signing your mail with DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM). Now, because the domain in your "From" address will align with your MAIL FROM domain, you can also comply with DMARC by using Sender Policy Framework (SPF). 

To configure a verified identity to send emails using a custom MAIL FROM domain, you initiate the process by using the Amazon SES console or API, and then add an MX record to your domain's DNS server. When Amazon SES successfully detects the record, you simply send emails from the verified identity in the usual way, and the emails will use the MAIL FROM domain you specified. 

For more information about specifying a MAIL FROM domain, see the Amazon SES Developer Guide. For general information about Amazon SES, see the detail page.