What the XML contains, the fields that matter, and the three questions every report should answer.
What DMARC Reports Are
When you publish a DMARC record with a rua address, participating receivers send you daily aggregate reports - XML files summarizing every message they saw claiming to be from your domain, how much mail came from each source IP, and whether it passed SPF, DKIM and alignment. They are the map of who sends as you.
Why They Look Intimidating (and How to Read Them)
Aggregate reports arrive as raw XML, which is why most people never read them. Each report has a header (who sent it, the date range, your published policy) and a series of record blocks. Each record shows a source IP, a message count, and the SPF, DKIM and DMARC results. A DMARC dashboard tool will parse these into a readable table - but it helps to know what the fields mean.
The Fields That Matter
| Field | What it tells you |
|---|---|
source_ip | The server that sent the mail - identify which of your services (or a spoofer) it is. |
count | How many messages came from that IP in the period. |
spf / dkim result | Whether each authentication check passed for that source. |
disposition | What the receiver did (none / quarantine / reject) under your policy. |
| alignment | Whether the passing domain matched your From domain - the thing that decides DMARC pass/fail. |
What to Look For
Three questions answer most of it: Are all my legitimate sources passing and aligning? Is there an unknown IP sending volume as my domain (a spoofer, or a forgotten service)? And as I tighten policy, is any legitimate mail being quarantined or rejected? The reports answer all three - which is why they must be clean before you move to p=reject.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I read a DMARC report?
Why are DMARC reports in XML?
What should a healthy DMARC report show?
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