Email Marketing · 15 April 2025 · 2 min read

Outlook Joins Gmail and Yahoo: New Email Sender Rules From 5 May

Microsoft announced on 2 April 2025 that domains sending over 5,000 emails a day to Outlook.com, Hotmail and Live must use SPF, DKIM and DMARC. Non-compliant mail goes to junk from 5 May.

In short:

Microsoft’s new rules apply to domains sending more than 5,000 emails a day to Outlook.com, Hotmail.com and Live.com addresses.
You need SPF, DKIM and a DMARC record (at least p=none), aligned with your From domain.
From 5 May 2025, non-compliant mail is expected to go to the junk folder. If you fixed things for Gmail in 2024, you’re probably already compliant.

On 2 April 2025, Microsoft announced new requirements for high-volume senders to its consumer email services: Outlook.com, Hotmail.com and Live.com. It follows the rules Gmail and Yahoo introduced in 2024. Microsoft said non-compliant messages will be routed to junk starting 5 May 2025, and may be rejected in future.

The requirements

SPF must pass for your sending domain.
DKIM must pass and sign your messages.
DMARC must be published with at least p=none, and must align with SPF or DKIM.

Microsoft also recommends good practices such as a working reply-to address, a clear unsubscribe link and keeping your list clean.

Do Pakistani brands need to worry?

Outlook and Hotmail addresses are common in Pakistan, especially among older customers and business buyers who set up email years ago. Even if you send fewer than 5,000 emails a day, these are best practices that improve inbox placement everywhere.

Quick check

Use a free tool like MXToolbox to look up your domain’s SPF, DKIM and DMARC records.
Send a test email to an Outlook.com address and check the headers show spf=pass, dkim=pass and dmarc=pass.
If DMARC is missing, publish a record starting with v=DMARC1; p=none; and an address to receive reports.
Make sure your email platform (Klaviyo, Mailchimp, Brevo) is set up to sign with your own domain, not its shared domain.