Amazon Route 53 DNS setup
Connect your sending domain using Amazon Route 53’s DNS settings.
Copy the settings from your SendHog dashboard into Amazon Route 53. This proves you own the domain and lets email services check your outgoing messages. The steps below show where to enter each setting.
Before you start
Add your domain in SendHog to get the exact settings to copy. If the app is still preparing your records, wait for the real values rather than entering example values.
Make sure Amazon Route 53 manages your DNS, not just your domain registration. Your domain’s nameservers tell you which company manages DNS; if they point elsewhere, use that company’s settings instead.
Add the records
- Open the Route 53 console → Hosted zones. Select your domain’s public hosted zone—the list of DNS records visible on the internet.
- Click Create record and choose CNAME as the record type.
- Paste the host prefix into Record name and the complete target into Value. The console appends the hosted-zone name.
- Use simple routing, leave Alias off, keep the default TTL, and create each record.
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Type | Select CNAME for each DKIM record shown in SendHog. These records help verify your outgoing email. |
| Record name | Copy the name from SendHog. If the form adds example.com automatically, enter only the part before it. For example, token._domainkey.example.com becomes token._domainkey. Keep any subdomain prefix too. |
| Target / Value | The complete target from SendHog, ending in .dkim.amazonses.com. Each record has its own value. |
| TTL | Default (300 seconds is fine). This controls how long DNS services remember a record before checking again. |
The examples explain the fields; they are not your real settings. Copy your domain’s records from the app. Leave existing MX records, which deliver incoming mail, and unrelated website records unchanged.
Check your setup
Return to the domain’s setup page in SendHog and select Check DNS. If verification is still pending, check the saved name and target, allow time for DNS caches to update, then check again.
Open dashboardAmazon Route 53 tips
- Use the public hosted zone, not a private zone used inside your AWS network. SendHog needs to find the records on the internet.
- Route 53 groups records with the same name and type together. Keep existing values when editing a group. For developers: an UPSERT command can overwrite the group.
- For developers using the Route 53 API or command line: wrap TXT values in double quotes, but not CNAME targets. Only add TXT or incoming-mail MX records if SendHog supplies them.