M3AAWG Email Authentication Recommended Best Practices 2020 This document recommends a set of best practices for authenticating email messages using the security protocols Sender Policy Framework (SPF), Domain Keys Identified Mail (DKIM), Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) DMARC and Authenticated Received Chain (ARC). (Another security protocol, SMTP authentication, meaning the presentation of credentials during the submission of a message by a Mail User Agent (MUA) or Mail Submission Agent (MSA) to a Mail Transfer Agent (MTA) serves a different purpose and is outside the scope of this document.)