Resolve an email sending suspension

When sending a marketing email from the email tool, or an email from the CRM or conversations inbox using a HubSpot-hosted inbox, email sending may be suspended. 

Marketing email suspended 

For marketing emails, email sending is suspended when HubSpot's deliverability protection system detects a high bounce rate on your email recipients, or fraudulent account activity is detected. All marketing emails and automated emails in workflows are not sent while marketing email is suspended.

Before marketing email sending is suspended, you may see a warning banner in your email tool about a problem detected by the deliverability protection system. The banners contain more details about the problem, and recommendations to improve future emails.

Please note: you can reach out to marketing email experts for advice on improving your emails on the Email Deliverability topic board on the Community.

Types of marketing email suspensions

There are two types of email suspensions:

1. The deliverability protection system detects excessive hard bounces, unsubscribes, spam reports, blocklisting, or abuse complaints. Your account will be suspended if you exceed the limits detailed below, assessed cumulatively over the course of a given month, or from repeated canceled campaigns. Learn more about what to do about this type of suspension.
   
2. The system detects fraudulent activity on your account, such as spam traps. Learn how to respond to this type of suspension.

Email limits

• Hard bounces: HubSpot's hard bounce limit is 5%. For reference, many ISPs prefer bounce rates to be under 2%.
• Spam reports: HubSpot's spam complaint rate limit is 0.1% (1 in 1,000 messages sent). Spam reports are when a recipient clicks the spam button reportSpam while viewing your email in their inbox, or drags the email into their junk folder.
• Direct complaints: if any direct complaints are sent to HubSpot's abuse desk, marketing email sending in your account may be suspended.
• Unsubscribes: HubSpot's unsubscribe rate limit is 5%. A healthy unsubscribe rate is less than 2%.
  
  

Resolve a marketing email sending suspension

Free CRM accounts

You'll be notified about the suspension in a banner message in your email tool. After email sending is suspended, the email tool will remain locked. With a free CRM account, you cannot appeal the suspension.

You can continue to use the other tools in your HubSpot account.

Marketing Hub Starter accounts, Sales Hub Starter, Professional, and Enterprise accounts, Service Hub Starter, Professional and Enterprise accounts, and free trial accounts

To appeal your email suspension:

• In your HubSpot account, navigate to Marketing > Email.
• Click Submit appeal in the banner at the top of the page

• In the dialog box, fill out the appeal form:
  • Confirm that you imported an opt-out list and cleaned up your contact lists.
  • Specify where you obtained your contacts, confirm you've emailed them in the last year, and provide additional information on how the contacts provided their email addresses.
  • Click Create ticket to submit your appeal.

• After you submit your appeal, a HubSpot support specialist will contact you to gather more information if necessary, and the Email Deliverability Team will make a final decision whether to restore email access.

Please note: HubSpot will automatically suppress any contact that has already hard bounced, unsubscribed, or marked an email as spam. Removing these contacts alone is not sufficient to restore email access.

Marketing Hub Basic (Legacy), Professional, or Enterprise accounts

The primary point of contact on your account and your Customer Success Manager will both receive an email from the Email Deliverability Team. This email will provide more information about the suspension, and steps you can take to resolve the problem.

Work directly with the team and your account manager on next steps. Replies to the original email thread will get a response within one business day.

Email sending suspended from the CRM or the conversations inbox

Your ability to send emails from the CRM or from the conversations inbox may be suspended if HubSpot detects poor sending behavior from your HubSpot-hosted inbox. This includes any email sent from the email address that you set up to forward emails to the conversations inbox, such as support@hubspot.hs-inbox.com, or your fallback email address. 

When email sending is suspended, a warning banner will appear in the CRM or the inbox and you won't be able to send an email.

You can appeal the suspension to resume email sending:

• In your HubSpot account, navigate to your conversations inbox or a record in the CRM. 
• Click complete this form in the banner. 
• Fill out the appeal form. 

HubSpot will then review the appeal and make a decision regarding your email sending capabilities. 

Additional account reviews

Some accounts may require additional review to determine if marketing email access can be unlocked. Click the link in the banner to submit more information about your contacts and the email you want to send. HubSpot will review the submission and respond within two business days.

The primary point of contact on your account will receive an email notification about the next steps based on your form submission. The banner information on your account will also update to reflect the decision.