Overview
Studios can send transactional emails (booking confirmations, receipts, reminders, and more) from their own sender address instead of the default Ferb sender. Configure this in Settings > Communication.
A custom sender address must be fully verified before Ferb will actually send from it. Until verification is complete, Ferb keeps sending on your behalf from the default Ferb sender so that emails are never blocked or dropped.
What counts as fully verified
A custom sender is only marked as verified, and only used for outgoing mail, once all of the following pass:
Postmark sender signature confirmation (you clicked the confirmation link Postmark emailed you).
SPF: your domain's SPF TXT record includes Postmark (include:spf.mtasv.net).
DKIM: the DKIM CNAME record Postmark issued is published in your DNS.
DMARC: a DMARC TXT record exists at _dmarc.yourdomain.
Return-Path: the Return-Path/bounce CNAME record is published.
Previously, a confirmed Postmark signature alone was enough to activate a custom sender. Now, Ferb checks all of these records together and only marks the sender identity as "Verified" once every check passes. The DNS records section in the Communication settings page is labeled Required DNS records to reflect this.
Checking DNS status
On the Communication settings page:
Enter your sender name, sender email, and confirm the Postmark signature.
Select Check DNS connection to re-run verification at any time.
Review the per-record status (Valid, Missing, Invalid, or Unavailable) in the DNS records table.
SPF guidance
Ferb inspects your domain's existing SPF record and gives targeted guidance:
No SPF record found: create the TXT record shown at your domain root.
An SPF record exists but is missing Postmark: keep your existing record and add include:spf.mtasv.net before the final ~all, -all, ?all, or +all mechanism. Ferb shows the suggested combined value plus your current value for reference.
Multiple SPF TXT records exist: DNS only allows one SPF record per domain. Merge the existing mechanisms into a single record that also includes Postmark.
SPF already includes Postmark: no action needed.
DMARC guidance
Ferb also shows guidance for DMARC status (missing, invalid, valid, or unavailable), including a starter policy (p=none) you can publish while you monitor reports.
Fallback behavior
If a custom sender is not fully verified, or a previously verified sender fails a later verification check (for example, if a DNS record is removed), Ferb automatically falls back to the default Ferb sender for all outgoing transactional email. You will see a notice on the Communication settings page while the sender is not fully verified.
This fallback also applies to the outbox worker that delivers queued emails: it re-checks the brand's verified sender before each send and only uses the studio's custom address when it still matches a verified, confirmed signature.
Onboarding checklist
The "email sender" step in the phase 2 onboarding checklist is now marked complete only after the sender passes full verification (Postmark confirmation plus SPF, DKIM, DMARC, and Return-Path), not just after the Postmark signature is confirmed.
