SURBL Delisting
Your outbound mail is bouncing, replies to you don't arrive, and LinkedIn is marking your links as suspicious. Your domain is on SURBL, they've replied, and you're still in the dark about how to proceed.
SURBL lists domains, not IPs, so switching tools or registering a new domain doesn't clear it. Getting off takes two things: fixing whatever practice caused the listing, and a credible conversation with the people who run SURBL. We do both, and we stay on it until you're removed.
How a SURBL Listing Happens
Nearly every listing we see comes down to one of these seven causes. The fix is different for each, so the first job is finding out which one is yours.
1
Spam traps
2
Manual reports
3
Missing unsubscribe
4
Lookalike domains
5
Spoofing
6
Bad links
7
Compromised accounts
SURBL's replies are short, confident and rarely name the cause, so we start by finding it ourselves: database hygiene, address collection, confirmed opt-in, brand impersonation,
spoofing, lookalike domains. Then we fix it.
We know what SURBL expects a sender to have fixed before they will delist, and we don't ask until it's done. Every request is prepared with you and backed by changes actually made.
Alex Shakhov
Founder & CEO
Leads security and operations. Author of our vulnerability disclosures and published research.
Luke Martinez
Head of Deliverability
Leads delisting and deliverability. 12 years at SendGrid, a decade in contact with SURBL.
What We Do
Database hygiene and recipient domain analysis
Review of all email address collection practices
DMARC data review & spoofing analysis
Lookalike domain sweep and ownership evidence
Email content and link audit
Guidance on every communication with SURBL
Suppression of typoed, invalid or otherwise risky domains
Global unsubscribe and suppression review
Blacklist monitoring through the end of the engagement
Who We Work With
We handle SURBL listings across the platforms outbound teams run on, including:
Our Process
What to Expect
1 to 3 weeks
No PII
Questions We Hear Most
Can we pay SURBL to remove us?
No, and neither can we. There's no fee and no fast lane. The only way off is showing them you understand the cause and have fixed it.
We submitted delisting requests and never heard back. Are they ignoring us?
Almost certainly not. Check your own spam folder and admin quarantine first: SURBL's reply contains your listed domain, so your own gateway blocks it. We see this constantly. If there's genuinely no ticket confirmation, something went wrong in the submission, and we resubmit together with a paper trail.
Should we register a new domain and send from that?
Please don't. Mailbox providers treat most brand-new domains as spam by default, and SURBL now lists the brand being advertised, not only the domain doing the sending. You'd end up with two problems instead of one.
Does switching ESP or sales tool clear the listing?
No. It's your domain that's listed, not the tools you use to send email from it.
Are links the problem?
Sometimes a specific one is. A single http:// link in a signature can trip a filter. We find that link if it exists; we don't ask you to strip links out of your mail.
We're SOC 2 / GDPR-bound. What do you need?
Recipient domains only. No addresses, no IPs, no message content.
Do you guarantee removal?
No. SURBL delists when the root cause is corrected. Determining the root cause and fixing it is the work we do. We can't promise an outcome we don't control, and we won't submit a request until there's a real change behind it.
Get Delisted. Stay Delisted.
Bring whatever SURBL has told you. In 30 minutes we'll tell you the likely cause and what it will take to fix.
All consultations are confidential.
