Scan your domain and IPs across 50+ major email blacklists simultaneously. Get instant status and delisting instructions.
This scan checks 65+ major blacklists and may take 20-30 seconds to complete
An email blacklist (also called a blocklist or DNSBL) is a real-time database of IP addresses and domains that have been flagged for sending spam or suspicious email. When you send an email, the receiving mail server checks one or more blacklists to decide whether your message should be accepted, filtered to spam, or rejected outright.
Getting listed on a blacklist doesn't mean you're a spammer. It means something about your sending behavior or infrastructure triggered a listing, a compromised server, a purchased list with bad addresses, a sudden volume spike, or sharing an IP address with someone who is actually spamming.
The good news: most blacklist listings are temporary, and the delisting process is straightforward once you fix the underlying problem. The bad news: while you're listed, a significant portion of your email may never reach the inbox.
The most influential blacklist organization. Most major email providers check at least one Spamhaus list.
Impact: Very high. Affects Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, and most enterprise servers.
Used heavily by businesses running Barracuda spam filters. If you're sending B2B email and listed on BRBL, your messages won't reach many company inboxes.
Impact: High for B2B senders. Moderate for B2C.
Driven entirely by user spam reports. Listings are usually short-lived (24-48 hours) and expire automatically once reports stop.
Impact: Moderate. Temporary but widely checked.
SORBS covers spam sources, open relays, and dynamic IPs. URIBL focuses on domains and URLs found in spam message bodies.
Impact: Moderate. URIBL can flag your domain even if someone else put your URLs in spam.
You're in good shape. This doesn't guarantee perfect deliverability (there are other factors), but blacklists aren't currently hurting you. Keep monitoring, things can change quickly.
Don't panic. Some smaller blacklists are overly aggressive. If you're only listed on obscure lists that major providers don't check, the impact may be minimal. Focus on whether the listing is on Spamhaus, Barracuda, or SpamCop, those are the ones that matter most.
If you're on Spamhaus SBL, Barracuda, or multiple lists simultaneously, you have a real problem that needs immediate attention. Your deliverability is being significantly affected right now.
High bounce rates signal you're using a purchased or scraped list. Anything above 2-3% bounce rate on a given send is a red flag.
When recipients mark your email as spam, that data gets reported back. A complaint rate above 0.1% is enough to cause problems.
Your server may be sending spam without your knowledge. This is the most common reason for CBL and XBL listings.
If you're on a shared IP, someone else's spam gets the IP blacklisted and everyone sharing it suffers. This is one of the strongest arguments for dedicated IPs.
Going from 100 emails a day to 10,000 overnight looks suspicious. Gradually ramping up your sending volume (warming up) is essential.
Spam traps are addresses that exist solely to catch spammers. Hitting a pristine trap (never used by a real person) almost guarantees a listing.
Before requesting delisting, figure out why you were listed and fix it. Remove invalid addresses from your lists, stop sending to purchased lists, scan your server for malware, fix your SPF, DMARC, and DKIM authentication, and slow down your sending volume.
Each blacklist has its own delisting process:
After you're delisted, monitor daily for at least two weeks. If you get re-listed, you haven't fully fixed the underlying issue.
Never send to purchased, rented, or scraped email lists. Verify every address before sending for cold email. Regularly remove bounced addresses and inactive contacts.
Configure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC correctly on every domain you send from. Properly authenticated email is less likely to trigger complaints.
Never send high volume from a new IP or domain on day one. Start small and gradually increase over 2-4 weeks to build positive sender reputation.
Don't wait for deliverability problems to check your status. Monitor weekly at minimum and catch listings early before they cause lasting reputation damage.
At minimum, check weekly. If you're actively sending cold email or running high-volume campaigns, check daily. You want to catch listings early before they cause lasting reputation damage.
No. The vast majority of listings are temporary. Most blacklists have a delisting process, and some (like SpamCop) automatically expire within 24-48 hours. Even Spamhaus listings can be removed once you fix the underlying issue. Repeated listings, however, make future delistings harder.
Absolutely. Shared IP addresses mean someone else's spam can get your IP listed. Hitting recycled spam traps on a legitimately collected but poorly maintained list can trigger listings. Server compromises can send spam without your knowledge.
Primarily email. The real damage is to deliverability. However, URIBL can flag your domain URLs in email body content, which affects emails that link to your website even if you're not the sender.
IP blacklists flag the IP address of the sending server. Domain blacklists flag the domain name in headers or body. You can be on one but not the other. Your domain might be clean but the IP your provider assigned you is listed because of a previous user.
Be cautious. Many "removal services" charge money to submit the same free delisting requests you can do yourself. No third-party service has special access or influence over blacklist operators. Save your money and submit requests directly.
If your check came back clean, great, keep monitoring. If you found listings, fix the underlying issue and request delisting. For a complete picture of your email health:
Look up all DNS records and check for configuration issues
SPF Record CheckerValidate your SPF record and make sure it's not broken
DMARC Record CheckerCheck your DMARC policy and reporting configuration
Email Deliverability TestComplete deliverability assessment across all factors
Sender Reputation CheckerCheck domain and IP reputation with major providers
MX Record LookupVerify your mail exchange records are correct
When you're running cold email at scale, you need infrastructure built to stay off blacklists in the first place, proper IP rotation, automated warmup, domain separation, and continuous monitoring.
ScaledMail builds and manages that infrastructure for you. We handle the domains, mailboxes, authentication, warmup, and monitoring so your emails actually reach the inbox.
See How ScaledMail Works