When trying to verify a DKIM record check – it will automatically ask for the DKIM selector. In this article we’ll explain what is a DKIM selector.
What is DKIM?
DKIM is an email authentication technique which organizations use to protect their email. Find more information about what is DKIM on our website.
What is a DKIM selector?
A DKIM selector is part of the DKIM record and it allows publishing multiple DKIM keys on your domain.
When creating a DKIM signature for an email, you will need to mention which private key to use. This key is totally bound to a certain selector. The associated public key is published in the DNS on a ‘subdomain’ which also contains this selector:
selector._domainkey.yourdomain.com
So a selector can be re-used across domains but a specific domain can only publish 1 public key on a specific selector. Their names are arbitrary: can indicate server locations, signing dates or individual source names.
Use multiple selectors to setup multiple vendors using DKIM or allow key rotation for a specific vendor.
Once the selector and the associated domain are in place, they will need to be validated. The DKIM record check of DMARC Analyzer shows if there is a valid or invalid DKIM key record.
| read more about DKIM signatures |
| learn how to validate a DKIM record |
| validate your DKIM record using the DKIM Record Checker |