Sending email from your own domain in Gmail
You can read and reply to your practice email in the Gmail you already use — and have it go out as you@yourpractice.com, not your personal Gmail address. Here’s the setup, once.
Before you start, have two things ready: access to the Gmail inbox that receives the address, and the address’s outgoing (SMTP) password from your Forward Email account. If you don’t have the password yet, Step 1 covers it.
Step 1Get the outgoing password
Each address has its own outgoing password, generated in the Forward Email dashboard (this is separate from your Gmail password).
- Sign in at forwardemail.net and open your domain’s Aliases page.
- On the row for the address you want to send from, click Generate Password.
- Leave the fields blank and confirm — a strong password is created and shown once. Copy it now and keep it somewhere safe.
Step 2Open “Send mail as” in Gmail
In the Gmail account that receives this address:
- Click the gear icon (top right) → See all settings.
- Open the Accounts and Import tab.
- Find the Send mail as section and click Add another email address.
- Enter the Name recipients should see and the full Email address (for example
you@yourdomain.com). Leave Treat as an alias checked, then click Next Step.
Step 3Enter the outgoing (SMTP) settings
On the next screen, enter these exactly:
| SMTP Server | smtp.forwardemail.net |
|---|---|
| Port | 465 |
| Username | the full address, e.g. you@yourdomain.com |
| Password | the outgoing password from Step 1 |
| Connection | Secured connection using SSL (selected automatically with port 465) |
Click Add Account.
Step 4Confirm the address
Gmail emails a confirmation code to the address you just added. Because that address forwards straight back into this same inbox, the code arrives here in a few moments.
- Open the message from Google and either click the confirmation link or enter the code.
- That’s it — the address is now verified for sending.
Using it every day
When you compose or reply in Gmail, use the From dropdown at the top of the message to pick your @yourdomain address. Replies to messages that arrived at that address will default to sending from it automatically.
Repeat these steps once for each address you want to send from.
Troubleshooting
My message bounced with “pending admin approval”
If a test send fails with 535 5.7.8 Domain is pending admin approval for outbound SMTP access, your setup is correct — the address just isn’t cleared to send yet.
New domains go through a short one-time review by Forward Email (typically under 24 hours) before outgoing mail is enabled. Watch your inbox — they may email to confirm the domain or how you’ll use it; replying promptly clears it faster. Once approved, resend the message; nothing needs reconfiguring.
Gmail says the username or password was rejected
The username must be the full address (you@yourdomain.com), not just the part before the @. If it still fails, generate a fresh outgoing password (Step 1) and try again — a password is only valid until it’s regenerated.
The confirmation code never arrived
Make sure you’re checking the Gmail inbox that receives that address, and look in Spam. You can have Gmail resend the code from Settings → Accounts and Import → Send mail as.
Which port should I use — 465 or 587?
Use 465 with SSL (the values above). Port 587 with TLS also works if your setup prefers it; either is fine.