{"id":3790,"date":"2025-12-17T07:49:49","date_gmt":"2025-12-17T07:49:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/?p=3790"},"modified":"2026-03-06T13:46:55","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T13:46:55","slug":"how-to-set-up-email-forwarding-using-dns-in-directadmin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/how-to-set-up-email-forwarding-using-dns-in-directadmin\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Set Up Email Forwarding Using DNS in DirectAdmin"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/zn_7FSVK8zo?rel=0;si=vHHcMUgZTUp84HTi\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_82_2 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title ez-toc-toggle\" style=\"cursor:pointer\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 eztoc-toggle-hide-by-default' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/how-to-set-up-email-forwarding-using-dns-in-directadmin\/#What_Is_Email_Forwarding\" >What Is Email Forwarding?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/how-to-set-up-email-forwarding-using-dns-in-directadmin\/#Do_You_Need_DNS_to_Set_Up_Email_Forwarding\" >Do You Need DNS to Set Up Email Forwarding?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/how-to-set-up-email-forwarding-using-dns-in-directadmin\/#STEP_1_Log_Into_DirectAdmin\" >STEP 1: Log Into DirectAdmin<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/how-to-set-up-email-forwarding-using-dns-in-directadmin\/#STEP_2_Go_to_Email_Manager\" >STEP 2: Go to Email Manager<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/how-to-set-up-email-forwarding-using-dns-in-directadmin\/#STEP_3_Create_a_New_Email_Forwarder\" >STEP 3: Create a New Email Forwarder<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/how-to-set-up-email-forwarding-using-dns-in-directadmin\/#STEP_4_Save_the_Forwarder\" >STEP 4: Save the Forwarder<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/how-to-set-up-email-forwarding-using-dns-in-directadmin\/#What_If_Email_Forwarding_Doesnt_Work\" >What If Email Forwarding Doesn\u2019t Work?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/how-to-set-up-email-forwarding-using-dns-in-directadmin\/#1_Check_Your_MX_Records\" >1. Check Your MX Records<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/how-to-set-up-email-forwarding-using-dns-in-directadmin\/#2_Make_Sure_%E2%80%9Cmailyourdomaincom%E2%80%9D_Points_to_Your_Server\" >2. Make Sure \u201cmail.yourdomain.com\u201d Points to Your Server<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/how-to-set-up-email-forwarding-using-dns-in-directadmin\/#3_Add_a_Proper_SPF_Record\" >3. Add a Proper SPF Record<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/how-to-set-up-email-forwarding-using-dns-in-directadmin\/#4_Disable_Email_Routing_Conflicts_Important\" >4. Disable Email Routing Conflicts (Important!)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-12\" href=\"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/how-to-set-up-email-forwarding-using-dns-in-directadmin\/#Conclusion\" >Conclusion<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-13\" href=\"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/how-to-set-up-email-forwarding-using-dns-in-directadmin\/#FAQs\" >FAQs<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_Is_Email_Forwarding\"><\/span><strong>What Is Email Forwarding?<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Email forwarding simply means that any email sent to one address will automatically be delivered to another address.<\/p>\n<p>For example: support@yourdomain.com \u2192 forwards to \u2192 yourname@gmail.com<\/p>\n<p>This helps you:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Check all your messages in one inbox<\/li>\n<li>Separate business and personal emails<\/li>\n<li>Create multiple custom emails without managing many inboxes<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Do_You_Need_DNS_to_Set_Up_Email_Forwarding\"><\/span><strong>Do You Need DNS to Set Up Email Forwarding?<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Email forwarding itself doesn\u2019t require adding special DNS records, but the DNS of your domain must be correctly pointed to your hosting email service.<\/p>\n<p>This means:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Your <a href=\"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/how-to-add-mx-records-for-custom-email-in-directadmin\/\">MX records<\/a> must point to telaHosting<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Your SPF record must include your mail server<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Your domain must use the correct nameservers<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If these DNS settings are wrong, email forwarding may fail or messages may never arrive.<\/p>\n<p>So before you set up forwarding, make sure:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>MX Records \u2192 Point to mail.yourdomain.com (or telaHosting server)<\/li>\n<li>A-Record \u2192 mail.yourdomain.com points to your server IP<\/li>\n<li>SPF \u2192 Allows your domain mail server to send\/forward emails<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Once your DNS is correct, email forwarding inside DirectAdmin works perfectly.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"STEP_1_Log_Into_DirectAdmin\"><\/span><strong>STEP 1: Log Into DirectAdmin<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li>Go to your <strong>telaHosting Client Area<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Select your hosting plan<\/li>\n<li>Click <strong>\u201cLogin to DirectAdmin\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><img data-dominant-color=\"d3d7df\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #d3d7df;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-3716 aligncenter not-transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Click-the-Login-to-DirectAdmin-button-711x400.avif\" alt=\"Click the Login to DirectAdmin button.\" width=\"711\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Click-the-Login-to-DirectAdmin-button-711x400.avif 711w, https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Click-the-Login-to-DirectAdmin-button-768x432.avif 768w, https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Click-the-Login-to-DirectAdmin-button.avif 1366w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 711px) 100vw, 711px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>You\u2019ll land in your hosting control panel.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"STEP_2_Go_to_Email_Manager\"><\/span><strong>STEP 2: Go to Email Manager<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Inside DirectAdmin:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Scroll to <strong>Email Manager<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Click on <strong>Forwarders<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><img data-dominant-color=\"dcdee3\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #dcdee3;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-3805 aligncenter not-transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Go-to-Email-Manager-711x400.avif\" alt=\"Go to Email Manager\" width=\"711\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Go-to-Email-Manager-711x400.avif 711w, https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Go-to-Email-Manager-768x432.avif 768w, https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Go-to-Email-Manager.avif 1366w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 711px) 100vw, 711px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>This page controls all email forwarding rules.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"STEP_3_Create_a_New_Email_Forwarder\"><\/span><strong>STEP 3: Create a New Email Forwarder<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>1. Click <strong>Create New E-mail Forwarder<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img data-dominant-color=\"e0e3e9\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #e0e3e9;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-3807 aligncenter not-transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Create-a-New-Email-Forwarder-1-711x400.avif\" alt=\"Create a New Email Forwarder\" width=\"711\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Create-a-New-Email-Forwarder-1-711x400.avif 711w, https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Create-a-New-Email-Forwarder-1-768x432.avif 768w, https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Create-a-New-Email-Forwarder-1.avif 1366w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 711px) 100vw, 711px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>2. In \u201cForwarder Name,\u201d enter the email address you want to forward FROM. Example: info@yourdomain.com<\/p>\n<p>3. Under \u201cDestination,\u201d enter the email address you want to forward TO. Example: yourname@gmail.com<\/p>\n<p><img data-dominant-color=\"fbfcfc\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #fbfcfc;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-3808 aligncenter not-transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Create-a-New-Email-Forwarder-2-711x400.avif\" alt=\"Create a New Email Forwarder\" width=\"711\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Create-a-New-Email-Forwarder-2-711x400.avif 711w, https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Create-a-New-Email-Forwarder-2-768x432.avif 768w, https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Create-a-New-Email-Forwarder-2.avif 1366w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 711px) 100vw, 711px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>You can add one or multiple destination emails.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"STEP_4_Save_the_Forwarder\"><\/span><strong>STEP 4: Save the Forwarder<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Click <strong>Create. <\/strong>DirectAdmin will immediately activate the forwarding rule. That\u2019s it \u2014 email forwarding is now live.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_If_Email_Forwarding_Doesnt_Work\"><\/span><strong>What If Email Forwarding Doesn\u2019t Work?<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>If forwarding isn\u2019t working, the issue usually comes from DNS.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s what to check:<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"1_Check_Your_MX_Records\"><\/span><strong>1. Check Your MX Records<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Go to: <strong>DirectAdmin \u2192 DNS Management<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Your MX record should look like: <span style=\"color: #555555; font-size: 14.4px;\">yourdomain.com.\u00a0\u00a0 MX\u00a0\u00a0 10\u00a0\u00a0 mail.yourdomain.com.<\/span><\/li>\n<li>If you\u2019re using telaHosting default email, this MUST be correct.<\/li>\n<li>If the MX is pointing to another provider (like Google or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en\/microsoft-365\/outlook\/email-and-calendar-software-microsoft-outlook\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Microsoft<\/a>), DirectAdmin email forwarding will NOT work.<\/li>\n<li>In that case \u2014 you must set forwarding inside the provider (not DirectAdmin).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"2_Make_Sure_%E2%80%9Cmailyourdomaincom%E2%80%9D_Points_to_Your_Server\"><\/span><strong>2. Make Sure \u201cmail.yourdomain.com\u201d Points to Your Server<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Add an A-Record like this: mail\u00a0\u00a0 A\u00a0\u00a0 YOUR_SERVER_IP<\/p>\n<p>Without this, your domain won\u2019t accept mail.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"3_Add_a_Proper_SPF_Record\"><\/span><strong>3. Add a Proper SPF Record<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>A recommended SPF for telaHosting is: v=spf1 a mx ip4:YOUR_SERVER_IP ~all<\/p>\n<p>Replace <strong>YOUR_SERVER_IP<\/strong> with your server\u2019s IP address. This ensures forwarded mail does not get marked as spam.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"4_Disable_Email_Routing_Conflicts_Important\"><\/span><strong>4. Disable Email Routing Conflicts (Important!)<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Inside DirectAdmin:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Go to <strong>Email Manager \u2192 MX Records<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Check the setting \u201cLocal Mail Server\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Use this guide:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>If using telaHosting email \u2192 Keep Local Mail Server: ON<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>If using external email (Google, Microsoft) \u2192 Set Local Mail Server: OFF<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This single option fixes most forwarding issues.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Conclusion\"><\/span><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The main job of DNS is to ensure your domain knows where to handle emails, while DirectAdmin takes care of forwarding them to your preferred inbox.<\/p>\n<p>With just a few clicks, you can have all your messages delivered exactly where you want them \u2014 making email management simpler and more organized.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"FAQs\"><\/span><strong>FAQs<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><strong>1. Can I forward emails to multiple addresses?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Yes, DirectAdmin allows forwarding to unlimited recipients.<\/p>\n<p><strong>2. Does email forwarding require extra DNS records?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>No. Only correct MX and SPF settings are required.<\/p>\n<p><strong>3. Can I forward email to Gmail?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Yes. Just make sure SPF is correct to avoid spam issues.<\/p>\n<p><strong>4. Why is my forwarded mail landing in spam?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Your SPF and DKIM might not be correct. Fixing them improves deliverability.<\/p>\n<p><strong>5. Can I forward email if I\u2019m using Google Workspace or Microsoft 365?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Forwarding must be set inside your email provider \u2014 not DirectAdmin.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\ufeff What Is Email Forwarding? Email forwarding simply means that any email sent to one address will automatically be delivered to another address. For example: support@yourdomain.com \u2192 forwards to \u2192 yourname@gmail.com This helps you: Check all your messages in one inbox Separate business and personal emails Create multiple custom emails without managing many inboxes Do&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":3810,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[33,26],"tags":[54,60,44],"class_list":["post-3790","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-directadmin","category-email","tag-directadmin","tag-dns","tag-email"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3790","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3790"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3790\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4011,"href":"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3790\/revisions\/4011"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3810"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3790"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3790"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3790"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}