SMTP 450 Mailbox Unavailable vs 550 Mailbox Not Found
SMTP 450 (Mailbox Unavailable) is a 4xx Transient Negative response, while 550 (Mailbox Not Found) is a 5xx Permanent Negative response. 450 indicates that the requested mail action was not taken because the mailbox is temporarily unavailable. This could be due to the mailbox being locked by another process or a temporary policy restriction. In contrast, 550 means that the requested action was not taken because the mailbox does not exist or the recipient address is rejected by policy. This is a permanent failure indicating the address is invalid or blocked.
Description
The requested mail action was not taken because the mailbox is temporarily unavailable. This could be due to the mailbox being locked by another process or a temporary policy restriction.
When You See It
When the recipient's mailbox exists but is currently locked, busy, or subject to greylisting. The server is asking you to try again later.
How to Fix
Retry delivery after a few minutes. If using greylisting, the second attempt will typically succeed. For persistent failures, check if the recipient's mailbox is full or disabled.
Description
The requested action was not taken because the mailbox does not exist or the recipient address is rejected by policy. This is a permanent failure indicating the address is invalid or blocked.
When You See It
When sending to an email address that does not exist on the destination server, or when the server's policy rejects your message (e.g., anti-spam, sender verification failure).
How to Fix
Verify the recipient's email address for typos. If the address is correct, the mailbox may have been deleted or your domain may be blocked — check your sender reputation and SPF/DKIM/DMARC records.
Key Differences
450 is a 4xx Transient Negative response, while 550 is a 5xx Permanent Negative response.
SMTP 450: The requested mail action was not taken because the mailbox is temporarily unavailable. This could be due to the mailbox being locked by another process or a temporary policy restriction.
SMTP 550: The requested action was not taken because the mailbox does not exist or the recipient address is rejected by policy. This is a permanent failure indicating the address is invalid or blocked.
You encounter 450 when when the recipient's mailbox exists but is currently locked, busy, or subject to greylisting. The server is asking you to try again later.
You encounter 550 when when sending to an email address that does not exist on the destination server, or when the server's policy rejects your message (e.g., anti-spam, sender verification failure).
When to Use Which
For 450 (Mailbox Unavailable): Retry delivery after a few minutes. If using greylisting, the second attempt will typically succeed. For persistent failures, check if the recipient's mailbox is full or disabled. For 550 (Mailbox Not Found): Verify the recipient's email address for typos. If the address is correct, the mailbox may have been deleted or your domain may be blocked — check your sender reputation and SPF/DKIM/DMARC records.