My IP/domain is blocklisted, what's the first step?

Finding out your IP or domain is blocklisted feels urgent. It is. But the worst thing you can do right now is rush straight to a delisting request without knowing what caused the listing in the first place. If you appeal before fixing the root problem, you'll almost certainly get denied, and you'll have burned your one easy shot at removal.

So here's how to actually work through this, step by step.

First, figure out exactly what's listed. Is it your sending IP, your domain, or both? And which blocklist? The big ones you'll encounter most often are Spamhaus, Barracuda, and Spamcop. Each one has different severity, different removal processes, and different reasons for listing. A Spamhaus SBL listing is a much bigger deal than a Barracuda listing, for example. You need to know what you're dealing with before you do anything else. You can run a quick check with our free blocklist checker to see which lists you're on right now.

Second, read what the blocklist actually says about you. Most blocklists will give you at least a high-level reason when you look up your listing. It might point to a spam trap hit, a sudden volume spike, a compromised address being used as a return path, or poor authentication setup. Whatever it says, take it seriously. This is evidence, not a suggestion.

Third, stop the behavior that got you listed. If it was a compromised account sending spam, lock it down. If it was a bad list segment with too many spam trap hits, suppress those addresses. If your SPF or DKIM wasn't set up properly and spoofing was the trigger, fix your DNS records before anything else. The blocklist doesn't care that you're sorry. It wants proof you've stopped.

Fourth, document what you fixed. Write it down. Dates, actions taken, settings changed, volumes paused. When you submit a delisting request, you'll need to show what happened and what you did about it. Vague apologies don't work. Specifics do.

Only after those four steps should you submit your delisting request. The process from there depends on which blocklist you're dealing with (Spamhaus, Barracuda, and Spamcop all have different flows). If you're not sure where to start or things feel overwhelming, our SOS hotline is free and we actually pick up.