Is My Domain Blacklisted? How to Check and Get Off

Is my domain blacklisted? It’s a fair question when replies stop coming, emails bounce, or everything suddenly lands in spam. This guide is for business owners, founders, recruiters and small teams sending from their own Google Workspace address.

You’ll learn how to check your domain for free in about five minutes, what usually causes a listing, and the steps to get off, in the right order.

Is my domain blacklisted? How to check in 5 minutes

A blacklist (most list operators now say "blocklist") is a public list of domains or servers linked to spam or harmful activity. Mail servers look up these lists and may filter or reject email that matches. Each list is run by a different organization, so you check each one on its own site.

1. Spamhaus. Enter your domain on the free Spamhaus IP and Domain Reputation Checker (opens in a new tab). Its Domain Blocklist (DBL) is one of the most widely used domain lists, and the checker is also where removals start.
2. SURBL and URIBL. These lists match domains that appear inside emails, like the links in your message. Look your domain up on the SURBL lookup page (opens in a new tab) and the URIBL lookup page (opens in a new tab).
3. Google Safe Browsing. Gmail’s sender guidelines suggest checking your domain on the Safe Browsing site status page (opens in a new tab). A flag here usually means your website has a security problem.
4. Your bounce messages. If an email bounced, read the whole bounce. Rejections caused by a list often name the list or link to it.
5. The domains you link to. Run steps 2 and 3 for any other domain your email links to, like a booking page or link shortener. A listed link can drag down an email from a clean domain.

Multi-list lookup sites can check dozens of lists at once. They’re handy for a first look, but always confirm a listing, and request removal, on the list’s own site.

Domain lists vs IP lists: which matter on Google Workspace?

On Google Workspace, domain lists are the ones to watch. Some lists, like Barracuda’s, track the IP address of the server that sent the email. Others, like the Spamhaus DBL, track domain names.

With Google Workspace, your email leaves through Google’s own mail servers, a large network whose IP addresses change often. You don’t have a sending IP of your own to look up or delist. Barracuda’s removal form, for example, asks for your email server’s IP address, which you don’t have.

Your domain is different. It appears in your From address and often in your links, and only you can fix what’s behind a listing.

The exception: if your website or another tool sends email from its own server as your domain, that server’s IP can be listed. Ask your web host or that tool’s provider to check.

Why domains get blacklisted

Spamhaus doesn’t publish its exact criteria, and says a domain must match several before it’s listed. These are the causes we see most often for small senders.

Email that people didn’t ask for. This is the big one. Spamhaus advises never buying or renting email lists. It says bought lists always contain spam traps (addresses that exist only to catch senders who email people without permission) and draw complaints. Old lists cause the same problems: abandoned addresses can turn into traps.

A hacked website. Spamhaus has a separate listing type for legitimate domains whose websites have been hacked, often through outdated website software or stolen passwords. The website may be sending spam or hosting phishing pages without you knowing.

A brand-new domain. Spamhaus lists newly registered domains for 24 hours, and says unknown reputations start out as poor. URIBL also has a list that includes very young domains.

A sudden jump in volume. Gmail warns that even doubling your usual volume suddenly can hurt your reputation. Spamhaus says a sudden spike from a new domain can lead to a listing.

Phishing tests from your domain. Google warns that sending test phishing emails from your own domain can get it added to blocklists. Use a separate testing setup instead.

How to get your domain off a blacklist

To get off a blacklist, fix the cause first and request removal second. Lists re-check domains automatically, so a removal without a fix usually ends in another listing.

1. Pause bulk sending. Keep normal one-to-one email going, but hold any mail merge until you’re clear.
2. Find the cause. Use the list’s result and the causes above. Spamhaus usually says which type of listing you have, for example spam or "abused legit" (a hacked website).
3. Fix it.
   • Your list: remove anyone who didn’t ask to hear from you, every address that bounced, and everyone who unsubscribed or complained. Spamhaus also recommends dropping contacts who haven’t engaged in a long time.
   • Your website: Spamhaus’s steps are to take the site offline if possible, remove infected files, update the website software and all plugins, check the server is secure, and change all passwords, with two-factor sign-in where you can.
4. Request removal on the list’s own site. Look up your domain again and follow the instructions it gives. Explain what caused the listing and what you changed. For a Safe Browsing flag, fix every issue in the Security issues report in Google Search Console, then click Request Review.
5. Confirm you’re off. Spamhaus processes approved removals right away, but some mail servers can take up to 24 hours to catch up. Google says Safe Browsing reviews can take a few days to a few weeks.
6. Restart slowly. Send to your most engaged contacts first and grow a little each day.

Our guide to warming up a Google Workspace email covers how to build volume back up.

How to get off the Spamhaus blacklist and other lists

To get off the Spamhaus blacklist, look up your domain on check.spamhaus.org and follow the instructions it returns. That checker is the only place Spamhaus handles DBL removals.

A few things to know before you start:

• Many listings expire on their own. Spamhaus says most DBL listings drop off automatically once the domain stops matching the criteria, so a fix alone often clears it.
• Removal isn’t automatic. Spamhaus may approve your request or open a review, and it can block people who request removal over and over.
• New-domain listings can’t be removed early. Spamhaus doesn’t accept removal requests for its Zero Reputation Domain list. Wait 24 hours.
• SURBL and URIBL handle removal through their own lookup pages. URIBL asks you to create a free account first.

Never pay anyone to remove a listing

Spamhaus says it never charges to remove a listing, and calls any paid removal offer "a scam." It adds that no third party can speed up or influence a removal. If someone emails you offering paid delisting, ignore it.

Listed again? What that means

A second listing means the cause is still there. Spamhaus says listings return automatically if the problem is detected again.

For hacked websites, Spamhaus warns that it will quickly re-list a domain if hacked pages turn up after removal. If that happens too many times, it stops accepting removal requests until it’s sure the problem is fixed. So check your whole website, not only the pages you know about, and look at every tool and list that sends as your domain.

If the listing came from email, compare it with recent sends. A new list, a bigger batch, or a different kind of email right before the listing usually points to the cause.

For a wider look at why Workspace email lands in spam, see our guide to Google Workspace emails going to spam.

What warmup can and can’t fix

Warmup builds trust in your inbox. It can’t make people want an email they didn’t expect, and it can’t remove a listing.

Warmuply helps with the parts that sit on your side of the inbox. It sends blacklist alerts the same day your domain lands on a spam blacklist, with steps to get off it. It warms up your Google Workspace inbox in the background by exchanging everyday-looking emails with a network of inboxes, a little more each day. It shows a daily safe-send number so you don’t jump in volume, and checks SPF, DKIM and DMARC in plain English with the exact text to paste. Most inboxes need around 4–12 weeks before sending at full volume.

What stays with you: who you email, whether they welcome it, what it says, and keeping your website secure. People clicking "Report spam" is one of the fastest ways to lose trust. Gmail asks senders to keep their spam rate below 0.10% and never reach 0.30%. No tool can promise inbox placement.

For wording that tends to draw complaints, see our guide to spam trigger words.

Before you hit send

• Your domain shows as not listed on the Spamhaus checker and on Safe Browsing.
• Every domain your email links to is clean too.
• Everyone on the list asked to hear from you or would expect your email, and can opt out easily.
• Today’s volume is close to what this inbox usually sends.

Check your SPF, DKIM and DMARC with our free domain checker. Then start a free 7-day trial of Warmuply to get blacklist alerts the same day. No card needed.