Send email from your custom domain

A custom email sender domain replaces Cavuno's default sending address with one you own, like info@notifications.yourcompany.com. Every job alert, magic link, and application receipt your candidates receive will show your domain in the From header instead of Cavuno's. This builds trust, improves deliverability over time as your domain's sending reputation grows, and gives your candidates a consistent brand experience from the moment they get an email through to opening your board.

Cavuno uses a specialist email provider to verify and send mail on your behalf. The setup is the same DNS pattern as connecting a custom domain: add a few records at your registrar, wait for them to propagate, and your sender flips to your own.

Before you begin

You need:

1. A primary custom domain already connected and active on your board. See Connect a Custom Domain if you haven't done that yet. Your email sender must be a subdomain of your primary domain (for example, if your board is on jobs.acme.com then your email sender goes on notifications.acme.com).
2. Access to your domain's DNS settings, the same place you added records when you connected your custom domain.
3. The Basic plan or higher. The custom email sender feature is included on Basic, Grow, Advanced, Scale, and Enterprise.

Add your sender domain

1. Go to Settings → Email
2. Select Add a custom email domain
3. Enter the Sender name (the display name your recipients see, like Acme Jobs)
4. The Sending address is prefilled with info@notifications.yourcompany.com. Edit the local part if you want something different (hello@, noreply@, etc.)
5. Click Create

Cavuno registers the domain with our email provider and immediately opens the Manage dialog showing the DNS records you need to add.

Add the DNS records

The Manage dialog shows the records needed to authenticate your sender. If a previous provider's records are also shown, keep those records in place until Cavuno tells you they can be removed.

Required records

The required records include:

1. A CNAME on s1._domainkey.yourdomain for DKIM, which signs your outgoing email so recipients' servers can verify it really came from you
2. A CNAME on rp.yourdomain for the return path, so bounces and complaints come back to us
3. A TXT record on _dmarc.yourdomain for DMARC, which is optional and only shown as a suggested value

Your default sender keeps working while you add these. Once they verify, the custom sender becomes available.

Each row includes a copy button. Log in to your DNS provider, add each record exactly as shown, and set the TTL to Auto (or 3600).

If you want to add a DMARC record (recommended but optional), the Manage dialog shows a suggested value. DMARC can report on authentication alignment and, with an enforcement policy, instruct receivers how to handle failures. The default v=DMARC1; p=none; is monitoring-only and does not block spoofed mail.

Wait for verification

DNS records typically propagate within a few minutes. Cavuno then rechecks your domain every ten minutes and updates the status. The records table in the Manage dialog uses live status pills:

• Ready (green): the record is in DNS and verified
• Missing (orange): we checked, the record isn't there yet (most common state right after you add records)
• Mismatch (red): the record exists but doesn't match what we expect
• Checking (grey): a verification round trip is in flight

You don't need to keep clicking refresh. The status updates in the background, and you'll receive an email as soon as the domain verifies. While the new records are still outstanding, your board dashboard also shows an Update DNS banner and the domain row carries an orange Update required pill; both clear themselves once verification succeeds.

If you want to trigger a check yourself, open the Manage dialog and click Refresh status.

After verification

Once your domain is verified, every board-scoped transactional email Cavuno sends on your behalf will use the custom sender. Recipients will see something like Acme Jobs <info@notifications.acme.com> in their inbox instead of the Cavuno default address.

Visitor Inbox replies use this sender too. Their Reply-To address remains on a Cavuno receiving domain until you set up a branded receiving address, so the conversation continues to work while DNS is pending.

Email types that switch to your custom sender:

• Weekly job alert digests
• Job alert subscription confirmations
• Magic links and password resets
• Candidate and employer email verification
• Work email verification for employers
• Company access request notifications and approval/rejection emails
• Public job submission receipts and admin notifications
• Billing verification emails for paid job posts
• Visitor Inbox replies

Cavuno-platform email (team invites, personal account notifications, admin reports) keeps coming from Cavuno's address. Those are about the platform itself rather than your board.

Use your domain for Inbox replies

On Settings → Email, select Set up branded replies. Cavuno prepares a reply address such as reply@inbound.notifications.acme.com and shows one MX record to add at your DNS provider. Add it to the inbound.notifications.acme.com host, then select Check DNS. Cavuno also checks in the background. Once the record verifies, new Inbox replies use the branded Reply-To address. Earlier messages can still receive replies through their original Cavuno address.

Do not replace the MX record on notifications.acme.com or your main business email domain. The inbound host is separate so it will not disrupt existing mailboxes.

Cloudflare users

Every record here must be DNS-only. In the Cloudflare dashboard that means the cloud icon next to the record is grey, not orange. Cloudflare offers proxying for CNAME records, and a proxied DKIM or return-path record breaks verification because the value receivers see is Cloudflare's, not ours. MX and TXT records are always DNS-only, so copy those values exactly as Cavuno provides them.

Troubleshooting

Domain stuck on Pending or Missing for more than an hour: Double-check that your DNS records match exactly what the Manage dialog shows, including any trailing dots or full-stop characters. On Cloudflare, confirm the proxy is off (grey cloud). Use a tool like dnschecker.org to confirm the records are visible globally. Most issues are typos in the record value, a proxied record, or the wrong TTL.

"We don't allow free public domains": Email providers reject sender registration for free or shared mail providers (Gmail, Outlook, etc.). The sender domain has to be one you own and control. Use a subdomain of your primary custom domain.

Emails still come from the Cavuno address after verification: Check the Status pill on the row in Custom email domain. If the domain is verified, the From header has already switched. If you're still seeing the old address, you may be looking at an email queued before verification completed. New emails will use the custom sender.

Branded replies still use a Cavuno address: Check the MX record on inbound.<your sender domain> in Settings → Email → Finish reply setup. The Reply-To address changes only after that record verifies. The From address can be custom before the receiving address is ready.

Removing the domain: Open the row's three-dot menu and click Delete. The domain is removed from our email provider and outbound email reverts to the default Cavuno sender immediately. You can re-add the same domain later if you change your mind, but you'll need to re-add the DNS records.