Add Your Reply Domain Records in Namecheap

Namecheap splits the job across two sections of the same page. The CNAMEs go in Host Records. The MX record goes in Mail Settings, and it only takes effect if that section is set to Custom MX first. Setting the MX while Mail Settings is on Email Forwarding or Private Email is the most common reason a Namecheap domain never verifies.

Copy the real values from the domain screen in Know Reply before you start. Three of the four are unique to your domain.

Add the records

1. Sign in, open Domain List, click Manage next to your domain, and open the Advanced DNS tab.
2. Scroll to Mail Settings and set the dropdown to Custom MX.
3. Click Add New Record under Mail Settings. Enter reply in Host, mx.sendgrid.net in Value, and 10 in Priority.
4. In Host Records, click Add New Record, choose CNAME Record, enter the host with your domain removed, for example em1234.reply, and paste the SendGrid target in Value.
5. Repeat step 4 for s1._domainkey.reply and s2._domainkey.reply, then save with the green tick on each row.

Namecheap appends your domain, so em1234.reply becomes em1234.reply.yourbrand.com. Each row saves on its own, so click the tick after every record.

Two things to check first

Nameservers. Advanced DNS only controls your records when the domain is on Namecheap BasicDNS or PremiumDNS. If the domain uses custom nameservers, your records live wherever those point and this page has no effect. The setting is on the Domain tab.

Existing mail. Switching Mail Settings to Custom MX clears whatever was there, which matters if you use Namecheap Private Email or Email Forwarding on the root domain. Note the existing MX records before you change the dropdown and re-add them alongside the new one. The reply subdomain MX and your root domain MX records coexist without any interference.

Then check it

Namecheap usually publishes within 30 minutes. Go back to the domain screen in Know Reply and click Check DNS.

Full record reference and what each one does: How a reply domain works.