Why is an email blocked or bounced at the ESP level? – Help Center

An email is blocked or bounced at the Email Service Provider (ESP) level when the ESP refuses delivery or places the recipient on its suppression list. Bloomreach then prevents further sends to protect your sender reputation.

This article explains how to recognize an ESP-level block and where to find the instructions for resolving it. For general bounce types, suppression rules, and revalidation requirements, see Email bounce management.

How to recognize an ESP-level block

The recipient is likely blocked at the ESP level when both of the following are true:

The customer profile contains an invalid_contact event whose source identifies the ESP.
The profile contains a campaign event with status = preblocked.

Bloomreach also sets the profile’s email_invalid attribute to true. This prevents the profile from receiving future email campaigns until the issue is resolved.

Do not confuse an ESP-level block with a Bloomreach suppression. A campaign event with status = suppressed means that Bloomreach prevented the send through an internal rule, such as consent, frequency policy, a suppression list, or the email list hygiene filter.

For definitions of campaign event statuses and attributes, see System events.

How to investigate the issue

Open the affected customer profile and verify the current email attribute.
Review the campaign events before the invalid_contact event.
Open the relevant bounce or block event and review the available message, recipient, integration_name, and integration_id attributes.
Use integration_name or integration_id to identify the ESP and the sending setup.
Check the recipient’s address in that ESP’s suppression, bounce, or block list.

The message, error, and code values usually explain why the ESP rejected the email. Use the Email bounce management article for the meaning of repeated soft bounces, hard bounces, permanent suppression, and contact invalidation.

What to do next

Confirm that the email address is valid and that the recipient wants to receive communication.
If the address is on the ESP suppression list, follow the ESP’s process to remove or allowlist it.
If Bloomreach manages the ESP integration, follow How to remove recipient suppression listed on the Email Service Provider (ESP) for the required removal details.
After the ESP-side issue is resolved, follow the revalidation instructions before sending to the customer again.

For Mailjet integrations, the removal process requires written confirmation from the recipient that they want to receive email communication. The linked suppression guide contains the provider-specific requirements.

What to include in a support request

If the ESP does not provide a self-service removal option, contact support and include:

The affected customer profile or project URL.
The recipient’s email address from the preblocked event.
The ESP and integration name or ID.
The bounce or block event’s message and timestamp.
Confirmation that the address is valid and the recipient wants to receive email communication.

Providing these details helps identify the correct sending setup and determine whether the ESP suppression can be removed.

Summary

An ESP-level block means the provider rejected or suppressed the recipient. Verify the address, review the preblocked and invalid_contact events, resolve the ESP-side issue, and follow the revalidation instructions before sending again.