Which DNS record type specifies mail servers for a domain?

Which DNS record type specifies mail servers for a domain? An MX record specifies the mail servers responsible for accepting email for a domain.

MX means “mail exchanger.” When a sending mail server handles a message, it queries DNS for the recipient domain’s MX records. Each record names a mail server and includes a preference value, often called priority. Lower preference values are tried first, allowing administrators to designate primary and backup mail systems.

An MX record points to a hostname, not directly to an IP address. That hostname must then resolve through A or AAAA records. This indirection lets mail administrators change server addresses without rewriting the domain’s mail-routing record.

MX is easily confused with TXT, which stores text-based policy and verification data, or NS, which identifies authoritative name servers for a DNS zone. An A record may point a website to a server, but it does not tell other mail systems where to deliver email.