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Bounce Decoder: 550 5.4.1

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550 5.4.1 — Recipient Address Rejected

The 550 5.4.1 bounce is common with Microsoft 365 and means the recipient address was rejected at the connection level. Learn what causes it and how to get delisted.

🔴
Permanent Failure (Hard Bounce)
SMTP Code
550
Enhanced Code
5.4.1
Category
Recipient Address Rejected
Frequency
Very Common

🔢 Enhanced Status Code Breakdown: 5.4.1

Component Value Meaning
Class 5 Permanent failure
Subject 4 Network and routing
Detail 1 Recipient Address Rejected

Per RFC 3463 Enhanced Mail System Status Codes. Class (X) = severity, Subject (Y) = category, Detail (Z) = specific condition.

💬 What This Error Means

The recipient server refused the connection or rejected the address at the connection level. Commonly seen with Microsoft 365 when the sending IP or domain is blocked by their anti-spam policy.

Common Causes

  • Recipient server blocking your IP at the connection level
  • Microsoft tenant anti-spam policy rejection
  • Recipient domain is not accepting email from your sender

How to Fix This

  • Verify the email address and domain are correct and active
  • Check your IP reputation with Microsoft SNDS
  • If blocked by Microsoft, use their delist portal

🏢 Provider-Specific Variations

Microsoft 365 / Outlook

Microsoft 365 commonly returns 5.4.1 as "Recipient address rejected: Access denied" for policy-blocked senders. Use the Microsoft delist portal.

📖 Microsoft 365 / Outlook documentation →

📋 Real-World Example Messages

These are real bounce message formats you might receive. Paste yours into the Bounce Decoder for instant analysis.

550 5.4.1 Recipient address rejected: Access denied [AM0P190CA0026.EURP190.PROD.OUTLOOK.COM]
550 5.4.1 [x.x.x.x]: Client host rejected: cannot find your hostname
🔍

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