Email Blacklist Removal
If your server has fallen victim to IP blacklisting, you’ll certainly want to know how to request your blacklisting be removed. This article will cover blacklist removal and provide links to specific RBL de-listings.
Checking Blacklists
First thing to do is check and see if you are actually listed on any blacklists. There are many services available online for checking blacklists, one of the most common and easy to use is MXToolBox. Visit MXToolBox Blacklist Check, provide your email server’s IP address and submit the check. *Make sure you provide the IP your server is using for sending mail.*
Help! I’m on a Blacklist!
If you are actually listed on a Blacklist, you’ll want to determine why you’ve been blacklisted/blocked. Most of the time, your email server’s logs will provide relevant information as to why you’ve been blacklisted.
Once you’ve been able to determine the exact reason for the block, make 100% certain that the issue has been resolved. For example, if an email address was compromised and your server was flagged as sending spam, ensure the email address has been re-secured before proceeding. Requesting a de-listing while continuing to send spam (UBE), can result in a permanent listing.
After confirming the issue(s) are resolved, proceed to requesting a de-listing.
Requesting Blacklist Removal RBL De-listing
Most RBL’s (Blacklists) have a submission form or removal request process that must be performed to remove your IP from their blacklist. Below is a table of some frequent RBL’s and their corresponding removal request links. If the form/process provides a ‘box’ or ‘comments’ section, ensure to include the reason and how it was resolved. Here’s an example:
The issue was determined to be due to a compromised email address that has now been resolved by re-securing the email address with a strong password. No further spam is originating from the server at this time, please assist with blacklist removal of IP Address: <IP Address Here/>
RBL blacklist Removal Request URLs
| RBL / Blacklist | Removal Request URL |
| Abuseat CBL | cbl.abuseat.org/lookup.cgi |
| APNews | www.apews.org/?page=index |
| Backscatter Blacklist | www.backscatterer.org/?target=test |
| Barracuda Blacklist | www.barracudacentral.org/rbl/removal-request |
| Invaluement Blacklist | dnsbl.invaluement.com/lookup/ |
| LashBack UBL | blacklist.lashback.com/ |
| SpamCop Blacklist | www.spamcop.net/bl.shtml |
| Spamhaus Blocklist | www.spamhaus.org/lookup/ |
| Sorbs Blacklist | www.sorbs.net/cgi-bin/support |
| Truncate Blacklist | Automatic Only |
| UCE Protect Blacklist | www.uceprotect.net/en/index.php?m=7&s=6 |
Additionally; if you find yourself on public blacklists; this could be due to the fact that you send mail to popular networks as well as other smaller networks.
Popular networks such as hotmail, gmail, yahoo, etc.
For this reason; you should take advantage of signing up for Feedback Loops to be aware of when and if your messages are marked as spam, before you get listed on any blacklist. This will allow you to stay ahead of any potential email issue that arises within your area of control.
You can find our area on Feedback loops here: Feedback Loops and Postmaster Tools