diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
index fe4b200..b9455ed 100644
--- a/.env.example
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -15,6 +15,8 @@ CORS_ALLOWED_ORIGINS=http://localhost:5173,http://127.0.0.1:5173
 EMAIL_HOST=localhost
 EMAIL_PORT=1025
 FROM_EMAIL=Pi Ku <no-reply@piku.app>
+EMAIL_HOST_USER=root
+EMAIL_HOST_PASSWORD=password123
 
 # FRONTEND
 VITE_API_URL=http://localhost:8000
diff --git a/backend/config/settings.py b/backend/config/settings.py
index 431b8d9..27b9e03 100644
--- a/backend/config/settings.py
+++ b/backend/config/settings.py
@@ -119,6 +119,12 @@ SIMPLE_JWT = {
 
 # Email config
 EMAIL_BACKEND = "django.core.mail.backends.smtp.EmailBackend"
+EMAIL_HOST = env("EMAIL_HOST")
+EMAIL_PORT = env("EMAIL_PORT")
+EMAIL_USE_TLS = not DEBUG  # false for local, true for production
+EMAIL_USE_SSL = False  # since we enforce TLS
+EMAIL_HOST_USER = env("EMAIL_HOST_USER")
+EMAIL_HOST_PASSWORD = env("EMAIL_HOST_PASSWORD")
 FROM_EMAIL = env("FROM_EMAIL")
 
 FRONTEND_URL = env("FRONTEND_URL")