This page is for administrators who are setting up a custom email address for their business or organization.
Before your company can use Gmail with your Google Workspace account, you need to change your domain's MX records so they direct your incoming messages to Google's mail servers. This article shows you which values to use to set up MX records for your organization.
What are MX records?
When someone sends a message to sales@your-company.com, the sender's computer looks up the MX records for @your-company.com to figure out where to deliver the email message.
Do I need to update my MX records?
Important: If Gmail is working, don't change your MX records. Changing your working records could cause incoming email messages to bounce.
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Google Workspace (Current version, 2023 & later)Starting in April 2023, we made it possible to use one MX record to set up Gmail. This change has no impact on mail delivery or reliability.
Important: We recommend using these instructions if you’re setting up new MX records or if you need to change your MX records. If your current configuration is working, don't change your MX records. The Legacy version (5 MX records) will continue to work indefinitely.
| Name/Host/Alias* | Priority | Value/Answer/Destination |
|---|---|---|
| Blank or @ | 1 | SMTP.GOOGLE.COM |
* Domain hosts use different labels for the name and value fields. Some hosts also require a period at the end of smtp.google.com.
Tip: For step-by-step instructions, go to Activate Gmail for Google Workspace (registrar-specific steps).
If you started using Google Workspace before 2023, you already added the 5 MX records shown in the following table. You can review the values and notes to check your current records.
If you’re setting up new or trying to fix your current MX records, instead go to the instructions for the Current version (previous section on this page).
| Name/Host/Alias* | Priority | Value/Answer/Destination |
|---|---|---|
| Blank or @ | 1 | ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM |
| Blank or @ | 5 | ALT1.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM |
| Blank or @ | 5 | ALT2.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM |
| Blank or @ | 10 | ALT3.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM |
| Blank or @ | 10 | ALT4.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM |
* Domain hosts use different labels for the name and value fields. Some hosts also require a period at the end of the server name.
Important: Regardless of your domain host's system for indicating priority, ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM must be the top priority record.
- If your domain host assigns priorities using numbers, choose the lowest number (highest priority) for ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM, as shown in the table above.
- If your host uses some other method for assigning priority, follow that method to designate ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM as the primary server.
- If your host allows only one MX record or doesn't allow ranking, use the instructions for the Current version earlier on this page.
Tip: For step-by-step instructions, go to Activate Gmail for Google Workspace (registrar-specific steps).
