How to specify a return-path for generated mail using PHP

[Tony]

You may want to specify a return-path for your website generated mail. This is the address to which rejected mail will be returned. This is very different from a return address. You can specify the return-path by using the -f parameter in the mail() function or specifying the -f parameter as a default in a php.ini file.

You can put the -f parameter in the mail() function, as follows :

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mail($toEmailAddress,$subject,$message,$headers,"-f$returnAddress"); 

Is is a fifth parameter, and note there is no space between the -f and the email address.

You can combine the example above with these two lines (put them first) to cover all the bases (Return Path, Reply To, and From).

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$headers = "From: <$returnAddress>\n"; 
$headers .= "Reply-To: <$returnAddress>\n";  

You can specify a default return-path in your php.ini file using this line:

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sendmail_path = /usr/sbin/sendmail -t -i [email protected]

Ensure the sendmail path is correct for your host, and again note there is no space between the -f and the email address.