Send survey emails from your own mail server or domain

Survey invitations, reminders and thank-yous can go out from your own mail server, or from your own verified domain, instead of SurveyRock’s.

Both are on the Growth plan and above. Neither is available during the free trial. Both live under White-Label in your account menu.

Which one to use

	Your own mail server (SMTP)	Your own verified domain
You provide	Host, port, login, and a From address your server allows	A domain, and DNS records you publish at your domain provider
Who sends	Your server	SurveyRock, signing mail as your domain
If it stops working	No fallback. The mail is not sent from SurveyRock’s address instead, and a campaign that cannot send through it is refused	SurveyRock falls back to its own address if the DKIM check degrades or your plan lapses

If you save a server and verify a domain, the server wins.

Your own mail server

1. Open White-Label and find Your own mail server (SMTP).
2. Enter the host, port, login, password and the From address.
3. Save. SurveyRock tests the connection before it keeps anything.

SurveyRock connects over TLS on port 465, 587 or 2525 to a public hostname. A server without TLS, or with a certificate that does not check out, is refused rather than used. The login is stored encrypted.

The From address must be one your server allows. Connection tests are limited to 6 per workspace per 10 minutes.

“Delivered” means your server accepted it. After handoff, delivery and bounces are your server’s, and SurveyRock cannot see them. SurveyRock still skips suppressed addresses and adds the unsubscribe link.

Your own verified domain

1. Open White-Label, enter the domain your emails should come from, and the From name and address.
2. Publish the DNS records SurveyRock shows you at your domain provider.
3. Click Verify Records. SurveyRock also re-checks about every minute for up to 72 hours, so you can add the records and come back later. The page says Verified when it is done.

What is required. The three DKIM records are required: sending stays off until all three pass. The SPF record (on the bounce subdomain) and a DMARC record are recommended, not required. Sending works without them, and the page warns until they are in place. A DMARC policy of none also gets a warning.

What is refused. Free-mail domains such as gmail.com cannot be used. The number of domains you can add depends on your plan.

If your records break later. Mail switches to SurveyRock’s default sender within 5 minutes to protect your domain, and you are notified.

What goes through your server or domain

Invitations, reminders and thank-you emails, and the test emails from the composer and from the settings page. Account mail, export notices, alerts and workflow emails still come from SurveyRock.

“Powered by SurveyRock” is removed from the emails that go through your server or domain.

Limits to know

• Your plan’s monthly email allowance still applies.
• SurveyRock does not promise better inbox placement. One test message from a verified domain passed SPF, DKIM and DMARC in Gmail, which is what authentication gives you, not a guarantee about spam filters.

Troubleshooting

The domain stays on Pending. DNS changes can take time to spread. Check each record against what the page shows. SurveyRock keeps checking for 72 hours.

A campaign is refused when I launch it. If you use your own server, a campaign that cannot send through it is refused. Open White-Label, run the connection test, and fix what it reports.

Mail went out from a SurveyRock address. That can only happen with a verified domain, when its DKIM check degraded or the plan lapsed. Check the DNS records and your plan.

I do not see White-Label. It is on the Growth plan and above, and not during the free trial.