Common PTR record problems
A practical guide to common reverse DNS issues and what to check when PTR validation fails.
Missing PTR records
One of the most common PTR problems is having no reverse DNS at all for an IP used to send email.
If the IP is used for mail, that can be a trust and deliverability problem.
Forward and reverse mismatch
Another common issue is where the PTR points to a hostname, but that hostname does not resolve forward to the original IP.
That weakens confidence in the reverse DNS setup.
What to check first
- Who controls reverse DNS for the IP range
- Whether the PTR target has an A record
- Whether the A record includes the original IP