Three steps, in this order
Check where you are listed, fix the cause, then ask for removal — and why the reverse order fails.
6 min read
A blocklist is a register of IP addresses and domains associated with unwanted email. Mail servers check it before accepting a message. Being on one shows immediately: emails are rejected en masse, and the bounce message often names the list. Getting off takes three steps, and the order is not negotiable.
1. Check where you are listed
The bounce message usually contains the web address to visit. Failing that, three free services answer: Spamhaus, the one inbox providers consult most, which tells you exactly which list you are on — each has its own cause and procedure; Barracuda; and MXToolbox, which queries dozens of lists at once.
Check both: your domain, and the IP address doing the sending. If you send through a platform, the IP is not yours: dealing with it is their job, and that is a reason to tell them straight away rather than working alone.
The three to check, free
- Spamhaus Lookup — the one providers consult most; it names the exact list
- Barracuda Reputation — its own list, with a direct removal form
- MXToolbox Blacklist Check — queries dozens of lists in one go
2. Fix the cause before asking for anything
This is the step everyone skips, and the one that decides the outcome. A removal obtained without a fix is followed by a fresh listing within days — and second removals are far harder to get than first ones.
The most frequent causes: a bought, rented or inherited list — the only answer is to stop using it; a bulk send to dead addresses, sometimes to spam traps; a signup form without confirmation, which lets in addresses typed by other people; a compromised account or website sending without your knowledge; no unsubscribe link, which turns every annoyed reader into a complaint.
3. Ask for removal
Every list has its form. It generally asks for the IP address or domain, and an explanation of what you fixed. Answer plainly and factually: what happened, what you changed, when.
Delays run from a few hours to several days. Some lists remove entries by themselves after a period without a new incident: in that case ask for nothing, wait.
What not to do: fire off repeated removal requests, switch domains to get around it, or resume sending at the same rate the day after removal.
The lists you cannot see
The large inbox providers also keep their own lists. They are published nowhere and have no form: there is no procedure, only weeks of clean sending, at reduced volume, to people who open.
That is the slow part of the job, and the only part money cannot buy. It runs on the same signals as ordinary deliverability: bounces kept down, complaints rare, unsubscribing easy.
Check, fix, ask — never the other way round. A removal obtained without a fix does not last a fortnight, and it spends the credit you would have had next time.
Words from this guide
List hygiene, handled without thinking about it
An address that hard-bounces is never emailed again, not even through a re-imported file. 3,000 emails a month, no credit card.