How to get off the SpamCop blocklist

A bounce message mentioning SpamCop or bl.spamcop.net, or a customer telling you your email went missing. SpamCop’s list is strict, so some email systems only use it to mark email as suspicious rather than refuse it. That means you may also see email going to junk for some customers without any bounce.

Most small businesses send email through Microsoft 365, Google Workspace or another email provider. Their servers send email for thousands of businesses, so when one of them is listed, it usually isn’t about you, and only the provider can get it removed.

1. 1
   Find the bounce message (the email that came back saying your message wasn’t delivered). It names the list and usually shows the server address that was refused.
2. 2
   If you send through Microsoft 365, Google Workspace or another provider, forward that bounce to their support. Say which customer it was going to and when. They handle the removal.
3. 3
   If your email goes out from your own server or your web host, the steps below are yours to follow, or your IT person’s.

1. 1
   Go to spamcop.net/bl.shtml and enter the server address from the bounce message in the “Am I listed?” box.
2. 2
   If it’s listed, people reported email from that server as spam recently, or email reached addresses SpamCop uses to catch spam.

We can’t tell from the outside why a business was listed, only that it was. The list’s own lookup shows the real reason. Common causes: people marking your email as spam (this often follows cold or bulk email), links to your website appearing in email that got reported, or someone else getting into one of your mailboxes or your website.

1. 1
   Stop whatever is being reported. Pause any bulk or cold email from that server, and check that no mailbox or website form is sending email you don’t know about.
2. 2
   Don’t look for a removal form. SpamCop removes the listing automatically once reports stop.
3. 3
   Check again tomorrow. With no new reports, the address comes off within 24 hours. If it’s still listed after that, reports are still coming in.

Every report counts, so the surest way to stay off is to only email people who expect to hear from you, and to make unsubscribing easy on anything you send in bulk.

Want to know the day it happens instead of finding out from a customer? SenderFix Monitor keeps checking the main spam lists for your business and emails you, in plain English, if you show up on one.