What is an MX record?
An MX record tells the internet which mail server handles email for a domain. Learn how MX records and priorities work, and look one up free.
An MX (Mail eXchange) record is a DNS record that specifies which mail server is responsible for receiving email for a domain. Without a correct MX record, mail to your domain has nowhere to go.
How mail routing uses it
When a server sends email to [email protected], it looks up the MX records for example.com to find the receiving mail server’s hostname, then connects to that host to deliver the message. The MX record points to a name, which in turn has an A/AAAA record for its IP.
Priorities and fallback
A domain can list several MX records, each with a priority number. Senders try the lowest number first; higher-numbered servers are backups used if the primary is unreachable. This gives email redundancy.
Debugging delivery
If email to a domain bounces, checking its MX records is the first step — a missing, misspelled, or wrong-priority MX is a common cause. A DNS lookup shows them instantly.
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