The requirements
| Requirement | All senders | Bulk senders |
|---|---|---|
| SPF or DKIM | Yes | — |
| SPF and DKIM | — | Yes |
DMARC, at least p=none, and DMARC must pass | — | Yes |
| From domain aligned with SPF or DKIM (relaxed is fine) | — | Yes |
| Valid, non-generic reverse DNS (PTR) | Yes | Yes |
| RFC 5321 / 5322 compliance | Yes | Yes |
| Spam rate below 0.3% | Yes | Yes |
| One-click unsubscribe (marketing mail), honoured within 2 days | — | Yes |
Who counts as a bulk sender at Yahoo?
Yahoo deliberately doesn't publish a number. It evaluates senders at the authenticated domain or From-domain level. If you send marketing or notifications to more than a handful of Yahoo users, assume the bulk rules apply — they're the same work you'd do for Gmail anyway.
One-click unsubscribe at Yahoo
Yahoo requires a working list-unsubscribe for promotional mail and highly recommends the RFC 8058 POST method (the same headers Gmail requires); a mailto: unsubscribe is also accepted. Requests must be processed within 2 days.
Your email platform adds these headers for you in most cases. Check a sent message's source for List-Unsubscribe: and List-Unsubscribe-Post: List-Unsubscribe=One-Click.
Questions
Do the Yahoo rules apply to AOL addresses?
Yahoo and AOL mail run on the same platform and Yahoo's Sender Hub covers both, so plan for the same requirements.
Does Yahoo require p=quarantine or p=reject?
No. Yahoo requires a valid DMARC policy of at least p=none, and DMARC must pass for your messages.
Is relaxed alignment OK for Yahoo?
Yes. Yahoo states that relaxed alignment is acceptable, so mail.example.com aligns with example.com.
How is Yahoo different from Gmail?
The technical rules are almost identical. The main differences: Yahoo publishes no volume threshold, and accepts mailto: unsubscribe while recommending the RFC 8058 POST method.
Sources
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