Before you start
- Access to whichever service handles mail for the domain — the MX records say which
- The destination address
Step 1: Check who receives the domain's mail
Forwarders only work on the server the MX records point at. If MX points at Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, set up forwarding or aliases there — a forwarder created in the hosting panel will never see a message.
dig +short MX yourdomain.comStep 2: Create the forwarder
On cPanel, Email → Forwarders → Add Forwarder. Enter the address to forward and the destination. A forwarder with no mailbox behind it keeps no copy; if you also want a copy on the server, create a mailbox with the same address.
Step 3: Forward a whole domain if that is what you need
The same page has Add Domain Forwarder, which sends mail for every address at one domain to the same address at another. It is the usual setup when a business keeps an old domain after renaming.
Step 4: Set the default address to reject
Mail to addresses that do not exist goes to the domain's default address. Set it to discard with an error to the sender, so misspelt and invented addresses are refused at the door rather than forwarded. A catch-all that forwards everything mostly forwards spam.
Step 5: Understand why some forwarded mail fails
A forwarded message arrives from your server, which is not in the original sender's SPF record. DKIM usually survives forwarding, but if the original sender relies on SPF and publishes a strict DMARC policy, the destination may reject the message. For an address that matters, a real mailbox checked from your mail app avoids the problem.
Step 6: Test from an unrelated account
Send a message from an address that is not the destination itself, and check that it arrives in the inbox rather than spam.
The mistake people make
Testing by sending from the Gmail account you forward to. Gmail recognises the message as one you sent and does not show it in the inbox, so a working forwarder looks broken.