Publishing an MX record for Amazon SES email receiving

A mail exchanger record (MX record) is a configuration that specifies which mail servers can accept email that's sent to your domain.

To have Amazon SES manage your incoming email, you need to add an MX record to your domain's DNS configuration. The MX record that you create refers to the endpoint that receives email for the AWS Region where you use Amazon SES. For example, the endpoint for the US West (Oregon) Region is inbound-smtp.us-west-2.amazonaws.com. For a complete list of endpoints, see SES regions and endpoints.

Note

The endpoints that receive email in Amazon SES aren't IMAP or POP3 email servers. You can't use these URLs as incoming mail servers in email clients.

If you need a solution that can both send and receive email by using an email client, consider using Amazon WorkMail.

The following procedure includes general steps for creating an MX record. The specific procedures for creating an MX record depend on your DNS or hosting provider. See your provider's documentation for information about adding an MX record to the DNS configuration for your domain.

Note

To complete the following procedure, you have to be able to modify the DNS records for your domain. If you can't access the DNS records for your domain, or you're not comfortable doing so, contact your system administrator for assistance.

To add an MX record to the DNS configuration for your domain

1. Sign in to the management console for your DNS provider.

2. Create a new MX record.

3. For the MX record Name, enter your domain. For example, if you want Amazon SES to manage email that's sent to the domain example.com, enter the following:

   example.com

   Note

   Some DNS providers refer to the Name field as the Host, Domain, or Mail Domain.

4. For Type, choose MX.

   Note

   Some DNS providers refer to the Type field as the Record Type or a similar name.

5. For Value, enter the following:

   10 inbound-smtp.region.amazonaws.com

   In the preceding example, replace region with the address of the endpoint that receives email for the AWS Region you use with Amazon SES. For example, if you're using the US East (N. Virginia) Region, replace region with us-east-1. For a complete list of email receiving endpoints, see SES regions and endpoints.

   Note

   The management consoles of some DNS providers include separate fields for the record Value and the record Priority. If this is the case for your DNS provider, enter 10 for the Priority value, and enter the incoming mail endpoint URL for the Value.

Instructions for creating MX records for various providers

The procedures for creating an MX record for your domain depend on which DNS provider you use. This section includes links to the documentation for several common DNS providers. This list isn't a complete list of providers. If your provider isn't listed below, you can probably still use it with Amazon SES. Inclusion on this list isn’t an endorsement or recommendation of any company’s products or services.

DNS/Hosting Provider Name	Documentation Link
Amazon Route 53	Creating Records by Using the Amazon Route 53 Console
GoDaddy	Add an MX record (external link)
DreamHost	How do I change my MX records? (external link)
Cloudflare	Set up email records (external link)
HostGator	Changing MX records - Windows (external link)
Namecheap	How can I set up MX records required for mail service? (external link)
Names.co.uk	Changing your domain's DNS settings (external link)
Wix	Adding or Updating MX Records in Your Wix Account (external link)