> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.mailchannels.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Set up MailChannels Inbound Filtering as a hosting provider

> Provision MailChannels inbound filtering for customer domains, prepare your mail servers, and manage spam and phishing protection from the Host Console.

As a hosting provider, you provision inbound filtering for your customer domains from a single Host Console. You add domains, prepare your mail servers to work with MailChannels, and hand off per-domain DNS configuration to domain admins ? or complete it yourself if you're acting in that role.

## Sign up for Inbound Filtering

[Contact MailChannels Sales](https://www.mailchannels.com/contact-sales/) to get started with Inbound Filtering. A member of the sales team will reach you by email within 24 hours.

## Set up inbound filtering

<Tip>
  If your servers run WHM/cPanel, the [MailChannels cPanel plugin](/inbound/cpanel-plugin) automates most of the manual steps below. If you're not using the plugin, follow the steps in this guide to set up inbound filtering manually.
</Tip>

<Steps>
  <Step title="Navigate to Inbound in your Host Console">
    Once the MailChannels sales team has provisioned your account, log in to your [Host Console](https://console.mailchannels.net/login/auth) and select **Inbound** from the left navigation menu.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add your domains">
    From the Inbound menu, select **Domains**, then click **Add Domains**.

    You can add domains in three ways:

    * **Single domain** ? enter one domain name and click **Add**.
    * **Bulk upload** ? upload a CSV file with up to 10,000 domains per submission.
    * **Provisioning API** ? automate domain provisioning programmatically. See the [Provisioning API](/inbound/provisioning-api) guide for details.

    Once provisioned, all domains appear in your **Host Console ? Inbound ? Domains** list, where you can search and access each one.

    <Note>
      Provisioning a domain in the Host Console does not route mail through MailChannels yet. Domain admins still need to complete DNS configuration before filtering is active.
    </Note>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Enable required downstream services">
    Your mail servers must support the same SMTP services advertised by the MailChannels MX servers. Specifically, **SMTPUTF8** is required.

    MailChannels MX relay servers negotiate with the sender at the time of receipt. If your mail server doesn't support SMTPUTF8, any message negotiated using UTF-8 encoding will be returned to the sender as undeliverable ? it cannot be renegotiated at delivery time.

    Enable SMTPUTF8 globally on your mail server. The exact steps vary by software; consult your mail server's documentation.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Safelist MailChannels service IPs">
    Your mail servers must accept connections from MailChannels delivery servers so that filtered mail can be forwarded to your downstream mail server. Add the MailChannels service IP addresses to your mail server's allowlist.

    See [Restrict inbound connections](/inbound/restrict-inbound-connections#safelist-mailchannels-service-ips) for the full IP list.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Configure domain routing">
    Each provisioned domain needs DNS configuration before filtering is active ? MX records pointing to MailChannels and a downstream record pointing to the actual mail server.

    This can be completed by the hosting provider or delegated to the domain admin. You have two options:

    * **Delegate to your customer** ? share the [domain admin setup guide](/inbound/domain-admins) with the customer who manages the domain's DNS.
    * **Complete it yourself** ? go to [Inbound ? Domains](https://console.mailchannels.net/inbound/domains) and click **Login** next to the domain to open its Domain Console, then follow the [MX & downstream records](/inbound/downstream-records) guide.

    <Note>
      The **Login** button gives you access to configure that domain's settings, but does not promote you to domain administrator. To gain full administrative privileges, the domain admin must complete the [domain admin promotion](/inbound/domain-admin-promotion) process.
    </Note>
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Next steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Domain admin setup" href="/inbound/domain-admins">
    Guide for domain admins to create an account, verify domain ownership, and configure MX records and downstream delivery.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Restrict inbound connections" href="/inbound/restrict-inbound-connections">
    Configure your mail servers to only accept inbound connections from MailChannels for domains protected by inbound filtering.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Safelists & Blocklists" href="/inbound/safelists-blocklists">
    Configure global safelists and blocklists that apply across all your provisioned domains.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Provisioning API" href="/inbound/provisioning-api">
    Automate domain provisioning at scale using the MailChannels Provisioning API.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>