Tool Gate · How it works
How the Email Deliverability & DMARC Enforcement gate works
How the Email Deliverability & DMARC Enforcement Readiness Gate grades a sending domain: six weighted authentication controls and a bulk-sender gate where no DMARC or no alignment forces FAILING — which is how a domain lands at 76 and still fails.
How the gate works
This tool grades a sending domain's email authentication against the 2024 bulk-sender rules. Each control is marked from your own evidence and weighted into a 0–100 score — and then the score is run past a gate that can only make the verdict worse.
The 6 weighted controls
| Control | Weight |
|---|---|
| SPF published & aligned | 18 |
| DKIM signed, aligned & 1024-bit+ | 18 |
| DMARC policy strength | 24 |
| From-domain alignment | 20 |
| One-click unsubscribe (RFC 8058) | 12 |
| Spam-complaint headroom vs 0.3% | 8 |
| Total | 100 |
The verdict bands
For a domain sending over 5,000/day, a hard authentication blocker — no DMARC policy, or no from-domain alignment — forces FAILING regardless of the score. That mail is being rejected at the SMTP level now.
In the worked sample it scores 76 out of 100 and still reads FAILING — The domain sends in bulk with no DMARC policy — a hard authentication blocker — so it reads FAILING even though the six-control math lands at 76 (only AT RISK on a low-volume domain). The one thing to fix first: Publish a DMARC policy (start at p=none to monitor, then move to quarantine/reject) — the exact DNS record is in the kit..
Common questions
Can something score well on the Email Deliverability & DMARC Enforcement Readiness Gate and still fail?
Yes. The weighted score is run past a worsen-only gate — the Bulk-sender gate — that can only make the verdict worse. In the worked sample it scores 76 out of 100 and still reads FAILING, because the domain sends in bulk with no DMARC policy — a hard authentication blocker — so it reads FAILING even though the six-control math lands at 76 (only AT RISK on a low-volume domain).
What is a worsen-only gate?
A dispositive rule that can only lower a verdict, never raise it. One fatal flaw overrides an otherwise-good score, because a single disqualifying gap shouldn't hide behind a high average. The tool also names the one thing to fix first — here, "Publish a DMARC policy (start at p=none to monitor, then move to quarantine/reject) — the exact DNS record is in the kit.".
Grades configuration, not your legal obligations. No guarantee of inbox placement.
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<iframe src="https://redhub.ai/visuals/tool/email-deliverability-dmarc-enforcement-readiness-gate.html" title="How the Email Deliverability & DMARC Enforcement gate works — RedHub AI" width="760" height="1620" loading="lazy" style="border:0;width:100%;max-width:760px"></iframe>
<p style="font:14px/1.5 system-ui,sans-serif"><a href="https://redhub.ai/visuals/tool/email-deliverability-dmarc-enforcement-readiness-gate">How the Email Deliverability & DMARC Enforcement gate works</a> — by <a href="https://redhub.ai">RedHub AI</a>, the AI that tells you when to doubt it.</p>Image + link — a static picture for any blog
<a href="https://redhub.ai/visuals/tool/email-deliverability-dmarc-enforcement-readiness-gate"><img src="https://redhub.ai/visuals/tool/email-deliverability-dmarc-enforcement-readiness-gate-share.png" alt="Diagram of the Email Deliverability & DMARC Enforcement Readiness Gate: six weighted controls, a bulk-sender gate, and a sample scoring 76 that still reads FAILING." width="760" loading="lazy" style="max-width:100%;height:auto;border-radius:16px"></a>
<p style="font:14px/1.5 system-ui,sans-serif"><a href="https://redhub.ai">RedHub AI</a> — the AI that tells you when to doubt it.</p>
This is how Email Deliverability & DMARC Enforcement Readiness Gate works. More diagrams in the Visual Field Guide.