How to Set Up a Corporate Domain Email Address

Learn how to set up a company email address that can be used for Indeed job postings and connected Discovered features.

Overview

Indeed now requires job postings to include a company email address that uses a domain your business controls. Free consumer email addresses, such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, Outlook.com, iCloud, AOL, Comcast, or AT&T addresses, no longer meet this requirement.

Setting up a corporate domain email address helps keep your job postings compliant, improves the professionalism of your recruiting communication, and allows your hiring team to use company-controlled email addresses instead of personal accounts.

Discovered recommends using Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 for your company email. Indeed accepts a corporate domain email address from any email host, but Discovered can only connect to Google and Microsoft accounts for connected email, calendar, and scheduling features.

Important: Indeed enforcement begins October 31, 2026. Postings that still use a consumer email address after that date may receive reduced visibility on Indeed.

If you already have a corporate domain email address and only need to update it in Discovered, see the Updating Your Email Address in Discovered guide.

What Counts as a Corporate Domain Email Address

A compliant email address uses a domain your business controls.

Examples of compliant addresses:

Examples of non-compliant addresses:

All company names, domains, and email addresses in these examples are fictional and are used for illustration only.

How Many Email Addresses You Need

Each person who posts jobs through Discovered needs their own company email address.

When a user creates a job in Discovered and posts it to Indeed, Discovered uses that user’s email address on the posting. Because each Discovered user has a unique email address, one shared company email address cannot cover multiple users.

If three people at your company post jobs, you need three email addresses on your company domain.

Before setting anything up, count how many people at your company post jobs through Discovered. That number determines how many addresses you need.

Start Here: You May Already Have What You Need

Before buying anything, check whether your company already owns a domain.

If your company has a website, such as yourcompany.com, you may already own the domain and may only need to add email hosting.

Common situations include:

You already have company email but post jobs from a personal address. You may not need to buy anything. Update the address in Discovered and check whether your company email is hosted by Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 if you want to connect email and calendar features.
You have a website but no email on the domain. You need to add email hosting.
Your website is on Wix, Squarespace, GoDaddy, or a similar builder. These providers may sell email on your domain. Some resell Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, which is recommended. If they only offer a basic mailbox, it may satisfy Indeed but will not connect to Discovered.
You do not have a website or domain. You need to register a domain and set up email hosting.

Important: If your company already receives email on your domain, be careful when setting up new email. Email setup may require changing your domain’s MX records. If those records are changed incorrectly, existing email may stop arriving. Use your provider’s guided setup or ask whoever manages your domain to help.

Setting Up Your Domain and Email

You need two things:

A domain your business controls.
A mailbox on that domain for each person who posts jobs.

Discovered recommends setting up the mailbox with Google Workspace or Microsoft 365.

What to Avoid

Avoid email forwarding services that only receive mail and forward it to an existing inbox. These services usually cannot send mail from your company address and cannot connect a calendar.

Also avoid generic mailboxes from web hosts or site builders if you want to connect email and calendar features in Discovered. Those mailboxes may satisfy Indeed, but Discovered can only connect to Google and Microsoft accounts.

1. Choose and Register a Domain

Cloudflare Registrar
Namecheap
GoDaddy
Porkbun

Choose a domain that is as close to your business name as possible.

If you register through Cloudflare, you may be offered free email forwarding. Skip forwarding and set up a real mailbox instead.

You can also register a domain during Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 signup. This may be simpler, but it can cost slightly more.

2. Choose Google Workspace or Microsoft 365

Choose the email provider that best fits your team.

Google Workspace is a good option if your team already uses Gmail or is comfortable with the Gmail interface.
Microsoft 365 Business Basic is a good option if your team uses Outlook, Word, Excel, or other Microsoft tools.

Either provider works with Discovered. Choose based on what your team already uses.

Add one user for each person at your company who posts jobs through Discovered. If you are the only person posting jobs, you only need one.

3. Verify Your Domain and Connect It

Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 both provide setup wizards to help you connect your domain.

During setup, you will usually need to:

Confirm that you own the domain.
Add MX records that route email to your new mailbox.
Send a test message to confirm email delivery.

Changes may take a few hours to fully apply, although they often work within minutes.

4. Create an Address for Each Person Who Posts Jobs

Create one email address for each person who posts jobs through Discovered.

Examples:

Send a test message to each new address and confirm that it arrives before updating Discovered.

Choosing Your Domain Name

Choose a domain that is short, clear, and easy to read or say aloud.

Good options include:

Your business name as directly as possible
A .com domain when available
.net, .co, or an industry-specific option if .com is not available
Your city or state added to the name if your business name is already taken

Avoid:

Hyphens
Numbers
Long domain names
Common misspellings of your business name

Choosing Your Email Address Names

Because each person who posts jobs needs their own email address, personal names are usually the easiest pattern.

Examples:

Pick one naming pattern and use it consistently.

If only one person at your company posts jobs, you can use a personal address or a role-based address such as hiring@yourcompany.com. A role-based address may be easier to keep if that person leaves the company.

Whichever format you choose, keep it simple and easy to read aloud.

If You Are a Franchise Location

Franchise locations should take extra care before registering a new domain.

Indeed has indicated that it is still reviewing how franchises fit into this policy, so franchisees should check with their franchisor before spending money or registering a domain.

1. Ask Your Franchisor First

Before registering anything, ask your franchise support or field representative whether the brand already provides a corporate email address for hiring.

You can ask:

“Indeed now requires a corporate domain email address on all job postings, effective October 31, 2026. Consumer addresses like Gmail no longer qualify. Does the brand provide an email address on a company domain that I can use for hiring at my location? If not, may I register a domain for my legal entity, and are there brand guidelines I need to follow?”

If your franchisor provides an approved email address or brand-domain option, you may not need to set up anything else.

2. Do Not Register a Domain Containing the Brand Name Without Written Permission

Do not register a domain that includes the franchise brand name unless you have written approval from the franchisor.

Registering a brand-based domain without permission may create franchise agreement or trademark issues and could force you to redo the work later.

Get approval in writing before registering anything that uses the brand name.

3. Register a Domain for Your Legal Entity Instead

If the franchisor does not provide an email address or approve use of the brand name, use a domain based on your legal business entity.

Preferred naming approaches include:

Your legal entity name
Your DBA or operating name
Owner or family name plus business type
Brand plus location, only with written franchisor approval

Then set up email using Google Workspace or Microsoft 365.

4. If You Operate Multiple Locations

Use one domain across all locations instead of registering a separate domain for each location.

You will still need one email address for each person who posts jobs, but they can all use the same domain.

Before You Finish: Two-Minute Check

Before you consider the setup complete, confirm that:

Your email is hosted with Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, if you want to connect it to Discovered.
You have an address on your domain for every person who posts jobs through Discovered.
You sent a test message to each new address and confirmed it arrives.
You updated the address in Discovered, both in the user’s account settings and on existing job postings.

That last point is important. Creating a new company email address does not update existing job postings automatically. If the new address never makes it onto your live postings, it does not fix the issue.

Timeline

Use this timeline to stay ahead of Indeed enforcement:

When	What
Now	Ask your franchisor, if applicable, or check whether your company already owns a domain.
By mid September	Have your domain and email address working and tested.
By mid October	Update the address in Discovered on your account and on all live postings.
October 31, 2026	Indeed enforcement begins.

Setting up a domain and mailbox is usually less than an hour of work. The reason to start early is that domain registration, DNS changes, and franchise approvals can take extra time.

Why This Matters

A corporate domain email address helps keep your job postings compliant with Indeed’s requirements and makes candidate communication look more professional.

Using Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 also allows your team to connect email and calendar features in Discovered. This helps recruiters send candidate emails from their own company address, manage scheduling more easily, and keep recruiting activity aligned with company-controlled accounts.

Use Cases

Use this guide when you need to:

Replace a personal email address with a company email address
Prepare for Indeed’s corporate domain email requirement
Set up company email for users who post jobs through Discovered
Choose between Google Workspace and Microsoft 365
Register a new domain for your business
Set up compliant email for a franchise location
Make sure your active job postings use the correct company email address

Best Practices

Check whether your company already owns a domain before buying one.
Use Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 if you want to connect email and calendar features to Discovered.
Create one company email address for each user who posts jobs.
Avoid email forwarding services if you need to send candidate emails or connect calendars.
Test each new email address before updating Discovered.
If you are a franchisee, ask your franchisor before registering a domain with the brand name.
Update both your Discovered account email and any existing live job postings.
Start early so DNS changes or franchise approvals do not delay your update.

What Happens Next

After your company email addresses are created and tested, update each user’s email address in Discovered.

If you have existing jobs posted to Indeed, update the email address on those postings as well. Updating the user’s account email does not automatically update jobs that are already live.

If you need help with the Discovered side of the process, contact your Discovered account representative. Discovered can help confirm which postings still need to be updated, but your company must register the domain and purchase email hosting directly because those accounts need to be in your company’s name and under your control.