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554 5.7.1: message refused

The server refused the transaction for a policy reason. Like 550 5.7.1, the text after the code is what tells you why.

Updated 2 min read

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554 5.7.1 is a permanent SMTP reply: transaction refused. This page is part of our SMTP error code reference, where every code links to the RFC and to what Gmail, Outlook and Yahoo publish about it.

Kind
Permanent: sending the same message again fails the same way
Retry by hand
No, fix the cause first
In Sukhovei Mail
bounced, address not suppressed

What 554 5.7.1 means

554 is "Transaction failed" [1]; X.7.1 is "Delivery not authorized, message refused" [2].

The code on its own does not say what failed. 554 is the general answer when a server refuses the whole transaction, so the text after the code is what tells you why. The same 5.7.1 also arrives as 550 5.7.1, where the refusal is tied to the mailbox.

An SMTP session in which Sukhovei Mail's submission server accepts the message envelope and then answers the end of DATA with 554 5.7.1 because the workspace's sending is paused, with the reason and the fix
A real session with Sukhovei Mail's submission server on port 465 for a workspace whose sending is paused. The pause was applied for the capture with the columns and wording the automatic pause uses (4 hard bounces among 50 recipients). The key is masked and the message body is left out.

What Gmail, Outlook and Yahoo say

Yahoo
"A 553 or 554 SMTP error indicates an email could not be delivered due to a permanent problem" [3].

Gmail and Outlook and Microsoft 365 do not list 554 5.7.1 on the error pages we read, so we do not guess what they mean by it.

Sources, read on October 14, 2026

  1. [1]RFC 5321, Simple Mail Transfer Protocol, section 4.2: www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc5321#section-4.2
  2. [2]RFC 3463, Enhanced Mail System Status Codes: www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc3463
  3. [3]Yahoo Sender Hub, SMTP error codes: senders.yahooinc.com/smtp-error-codes/

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Common causes

  • Content or reputation filtering.
  • A sender rule at the receiving organisation.
  • On Sukhovei Mail's own submission server: the workspace's sending is paused, or the plan's monthly send limit is used up.

How to fix it

  1. Read the reply text first, then check authentication and content as for 550 5.7.1.
  2. If Sukhovei Mail sent it because sending is paused: remove the addresses that bounced or complained from your list, then write to support to resume. Only Sukhovei Mail support can resume it, and receiving mail keeps working.
  3. If it names the monthly send limit: upgrade the plan in the dashboard, or wait for the first of next month. Sending past the daily limit in a new workspace's first week is a different reply, 451 4.7.1.

How Sukhovei Mail reports it

When a recipient's server answers 554 5.7.1 to mail you send through Sukhovei Mail, the recipient becomes bounced and you get a message.bounced event with the server's reply in response and permanent: false. The message statuses page lists every state.

A policy refusal says nothing about whether the address exists, so Sukhovei Mail does not suppress it, and it does not count toward the automatic pause, which only counts hard bounces and spam complaints.

Sukhovei Mail's submission server answers 554 5.7.1 in two cases: a workspace whose sending is paused, and a plan whose monthly send limit is used up. The reply carries the reason and the fix, so the text after the code says which one it is.

The pause is automatic: it stops a workspace whose hard bounces reach 5% of at least 50 recipients in 24 hours, with at least 3 of them, or whose spam complaints reach their limit. It is the end of the road for the bounces described under 550 5.1.1. The automatic pause section of the sending docs lists the thresholds.

Related codes

  • 550 5.7.1: refused for a policy reason, permanent.
  • 550 5.1.1: mailbox does not exist, permanent.
  • 451 4.7.1: deferred: rate limit or policy, temporary.
  • 550 5.7.26: failed SPF, DKIM or DMARC, permanent.

Seeing an API error rather than an SMTP code? Sukhovei Mail's own errors, each with a fix, are on the errors page.

Questions

Is 554 5.7.1 different from 550 5.7.1?

Both are permanent policy refusals. 554 is the generic transaction failure, 550 a refusal at the mailbox; the reason text matters more than the basic code.

Why did Sukhovei Mail answer 554 5.7.1?

Either sending is paused for the workspace, or the plan's monthly send limit is used up. The reply text names the reason and the fix.

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