SPF returns more than pass or fail.
| Result | Meaning |
|---|---|
| pass | Source is authorized by the evaluated policy |
| fail | Policy explicitly says the source is not authorized |
| softfail | Weak negative result |
| neutral | Policy makes no assertion |
| none | No applicable SPF policy |
| temperror | Temporary evaluation problem |
| permerror | Policy cannot be correctly evaluated |
A permerror can result from malformed policy or exceeding SPF’s DNS lookup limits. Treating it as “basically a pass” defeats the point of having a policy.