553 5.1.2 We weren’t able to find the recipient domain
Sample bounce line
553-5.1.2 We weren’t able to find the recipient domain. Please check for any spelling errors and make sure you didn’t enter any spaces, periods, or other punctuation after the recipient’s email address. 553 5.1.2 For more information, go to https://support.google.com/mail/answer/81126
What it means
The part of the address after the @ does not resolve to anything that can receive mail. This is about the domain, not the mailbox: Gmail never got as far as asking whether the user exists.
Why it happens
- A typo in the domain, or a stray space, full stop or bracket pasted in with the address.
- A domain with no MX record and no usable A record, which happens to domains that have lapsed or were never set up for mail.
- An expired domain whose DNS has stopped answering.
- A nameserver outage at the recipient's end, in which case the same address may work later.
How to fix it
- Read the address character by character and strip anything after the last letter of the domain.
- Look up the domain's MX records; if there are none, the address cannot receive mail no matter how it is spelled.
- Ask the recipient for their address by another route rather than guessing a correction.
- If the domain is yours, publish MX records before expecting mail to arrive.
Check your domain now
Many of these errors come from missing or broken SPF, DKIM, DMARC or reverse DNS records. Enter your domain to run the free check.
Related errors
- 550 5.1.1 The email account that you tried to reach does not exist
- 450 4.1.8 Sender address rejected: Domain not found