How to Fix the “550 No Such User Here” Email Error

by Carrie Smaha

8 Minutes, 42 Seconds to Read

How to Fix the No Such User Here Error
How to Fix the "550 No Such User Here" Email Error - Hero Image

Encountering a “550 No Such User Here” error when sending an email indicates that the recipient’s mail server cannot locate the specified email address. This frustrating issue can stem from various causes, each requiring a specific troubleshooting approach.

This guide explains what triggers this error, how to identify the root cause, and the steps you can take to resolve it.

Understanding the Error

Before diving into solutions, it helps to understand what’s actually happening when you see this error.

When you send an email, your message travels from your mail server to the recipient’s mail server. The recipient’s server then checks whether the email address you’re sending to actually exists. If it can’t find that address, it rejects the message and sends back a “550 No Such User Here” bounce notification.

Important: This error can occur in two different scenarios:

  1. You sent an email and received a bounce-back. The recipient’s server rejected your message because it couldn’t find the address you sent to.
  2. You received a bounce-back for an email you never sent. Someone may be “spoofing” your email address (using it as a fake return address for spam). When those spam emails bounce, the error messages come to you. In this case, there’s unfortunately little you can do since the problem originates from someone else misusing your address.

Understanding which scenario applies to you will determine whether you can fix the issue or need to contact someone else for help.

Recognizing the Error

This error can appear in several different forms depending on the mail server. If you see any of the following messages, you’re dealing with the same underlying issue:

  • 550 No Such User Here
  • SMTP Error 550
  • 550 Invalid recipient
  • 550 User account is unavailable
  • 550 Requested action not taken: mailbox unavailable
  • 550 Address rejected
  • 550 Recipient not found
  • 550 Mailbox does not exist
  • 550 User unknown
  • 550 Not our customer

The “550” code specifically indicates a permanent delivery failure, meaning the server won’t attempt to resend the message automatically.

Common Causes of the “550 No Such User Here” Error

1. Incorrect Email Address

The most common cause is simply a typo in the recipient’s email address. Even minor errors like a misplaced letter, an extra character, or an incorrect domain can prevent successful delivery.

2. Non-Existent Email Account

The recipient’s email account may have been deleted, deactivated due to inactivity, or may never have existed in the first place. This often happens when someone provides an incorrect email address or when a company changes email systems.

3. Misconfigured Mail Exchange (MX) Records

MX (Mail Exchange) records are DNS settings that tell the internet which server handles email for a domain. Think of them as a postal address for emails—they direct messages to the correct mail server.

If the domain’s MX records point to the wrong server (common after website migrations or hosting changes), emails may not reach their intended destination.

4. Email Routing Issues

Email routing determines whether your server handles mail locally or forwards it to another server (like Google Workspace or Microsoft 365).

A common scenario: After migrating a domain to a new host, the email routing may be incorrectly set to “Local” when the email service actually remains with the previous provider. The local server looks for the user but can’t find them because the mailbox exists elsewhere.

The reverse can also occur where routing is set to “Remote” but the email accounts haven’t been created on the external service.

5. File Permission Errors

On hosting servers, file permissions control who can read and write specific files. If permissions are set incorrectly, the mail server may not be able to access the configuration files it needs to verify email accounts, resulting in delivery errors.

6. Email Forwarders or Alias Misconfiguration

If you’ve set up email forwarders or aliases, misconfiguration can trigger this error. A forwarder pointing to a non-existent address, or an alias that wasn’t properly created, will cause the server to report that the user doesn’t exist.

7. Catch-All Address Changes

A catch-all email address receives messages sent to any address at your domain, even if that specific mailbox doesn’t exist. If a domain previously had a catch-all configured and it was removed, emails to non-existent addresses will now bounce with this error instead of being collected.

8. Domain Migration Issues

When domains are migrated between hosting providers, “phantom” entries can remain on the old server. If the old server still thinks it handles email for your domain, it may intercept messages and return errors because the accounts no longer exist there.

9. Empty Email Content

Some mail servers reject emails that have no content in the body. While less common, sending a completely blank email can trigger rejection.

10. Blocked Outgoing Ports

Port 25, the traditional SMTP port, is often blocked by internet service providers to prevent spam. If your outgoing mail can’t connect properly, you may receive various delivery errors.

Steps to Resolve the Error

Step 1: Verify Both Email Addresses

Start with the basics:

  • Check the recipient’s address for typos, extra spaces, or special characters
  • Verify the domain is spelled correctly (e.g., gmail.com vs. gmial.com)
  • Confirm with the recipient that the email account is still active
  • Check your sender address to ensure it’s correctly configured in your email client

Step 2: Check MX Records

Use a DNS lookup tool to verify that the domain’s MX records point to the correct mail server.

How to check:

  1. Visit a DNS lookup tool (such as MXToolbox or DNS Checker)
  2. Enter the domain name (the part after the @ symbol)
  3. Look for MX records and verify they point to the expected mail server

If the MX records are incorrect (common after hosting migrations), you’ll need to update them in your domain’s DNS settings. This is typically done through your domain registrar or hosting control panel.

Step 3: Review Email Routing Settings

If you use cPanel, check your email routing configuration:

  1. Log in to cPanel
  2. Navigate to Email Routing (under the Email section)
  3. Select the appropriate domain
  4. Verify the routing is set correctly:
    • Local Mail Exchanger — Choose this if your current hosting server handles email for this domain.
    • Remote Mail Exchanger — Choose this if an external service (like Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, or another hosting provider) handles your email.

Common mistake: After migrating a website to new hosting, the email routing gets set to “Local” even though email is still handled by the previous provider or a third-party service.

Step 4: Check Email Forwarders and Aliases

In cPanel, review your forwarders and aliases:

  1. Navigate to Forwarders (under the Email section)
  2. Check that all forwarders point to valid, active email addresses
  3. Remove or update any forwarders pointing to non-existent addresses
  4. Navigate to Email Accounts and verify aliases are correctly configured

Step 5: Verify the Email Account Exists

If you’re receiving this error for emails sent to your own domain:

  1. Log in to cPanel
  2. Navigate to Email Accounts
  3. Confirm the email address exists and is active
  4. If it doesn’t exist, create it

Step 6: Inspect File Permissions

Incorrect file permissions can prevent the mail server from functioning properly.

For cPanel users on shared hosting: Contact the InMotion Hosting support team to check and reset mail-related permissions.

For VPS or Dedicated Server users with SSH access: Run the following command to reset permissions for a cPanel account:

fixperms username

Replace username with the actual cPanel username. This resets folder permissions to 755 and file permissions to 644.

Note: If you’re receiving this error when sending to someone else’s server, and it’s permissions-related on their end, you’ll need to ask the recipient to contact their hosting provider.

Step 7: Try Alternative Outgoing Ports

If you suspect port blocking issues:

  1. Open your email client’s account settings
  2. Locate the outgoing (SMTP) server settings
  3. Try changing the port from 25 to one of these alternatives:
    • Port 587 — Standard submission port (recommended)
    • Port 465 — SSL/TLS encrypted SMTP
    • Port 26 — Alternative port used by some hosting providers

Step 8: Test from a Different Email Account

To isolate the problem, try sending the same email from a different email account or provider. If the message goes through successfully, the issue likely lies with your original sending account’s configuration.

Step 9: Contact the Recipient’s Email Administrator

If you’ve verified everything on your end and the error persists, the problem may be with the recipient’s mail server. Reach out to the recipient through an alternative method (phone, social media, or a different email address) and ask them to:

  • Confirm their email address is correct and active
  • Check with their email administrator or hosting provider
  • Verify their server isn’t experiencing technical issues

Preventive Measures

Maintain Updated Email Lists

Regularly review and clean your contact lists to remove:

  • Email addresses that consistently bounce
  • Contacts who have changed jobs or domains
  • Inactive or deprecated addresses

Configure DNS Settings Correctly

After any hosting migration or domain transfer:

  • Verify MX records point to the correct mail server
  • Confirm email routing matches your actual email hosting setup
  • Test email delivery to and from the domain

Monitor Email Forwarders

Periodically review all email forwarders to ensure:

  • Destination addresses are still valid
  • Forwarders aren’t creating loops
  • Old or unused forwarders are removed

Document Your Email Configuration

Keep a record of:

  • Which server handles your email
  • MX record values
  • Email routing settings
  • Active email accounts and forwarders

This documentation makes troubleshooting much easier when issues arise.

Set Up Monitoring

Consider implementing email monitoring to catch delivery issues early. Many hosting providers offer email delivery reports that can alert you to problems before they affect critical communications.

When to Contact Support

Contact your hosting provider’s support team if:

  • You’ve followed all troubleshooting steps without success
  • You don’t have access to DNS settings or cPanel
  • You need help interpreting server logs or error messages
  • The issue affects multiple email accounts on your domain
  • You suspect a server-level configuration problem

When contacting support, provide:

  • The exact error message you’re receiving
  • The email addresses involved (sender and recipient)
  • When the problem started
  • Any recent changes to your hosting, domain, or email settings

Summary

The “550 No Such User Here” error indicates that the recipient’s mail server cannot find the email address you’re trying to reach. While the error message is straightforward, the underlying causes range from simple typos to complex server misconfigurations.

Start with the basics by verifying the email address is correct and the account exists. Then work through DNS settings, email routing, and server permissions as needed. Understanding whether the issue originates from your server or the recipient’s will help you direct your troubleshooting efforts appropriately.

By systematically addressing each potential cause and implementing preventive measures, you can resolve this error and maintain reliable email delivery.

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Carrie Smaha
Carrie Smaha Senior Manager Marketing Operations

Carrie enjoys working on demand generation and product marketing projects that tap into multi-touch campaign design, technical SEO, content marketing, software design, and business operations.

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33 thoughts on “How to Fix the “550 No Such User Here” Email Error”

  2. My email suddenly stopped receiving emails though I can send from the same email address.

    The response from the remote server was:
    550 5.2.1 … Addressee unknown, relay=[209.85.167.52]

    Any suggestions on how to fix? AT&T is of no help

  6. Adding to my comment above, another solution is to just add [email protected] as a forwarder in cPanel. Doesn’t matter where the email forwards to, or the fact that there is no actual mailbox—just the existence of the forwarder seems to resolve the issue.

    1. Hello Robert,

      In order to create a forwarder, the basic mail address configuration is created on the server. The actual email folder structure that holds saved emails for that address is NOT required and can be removed so that any email sent to the forwarder ONLY goes to the address designated by the forwarder. If the mail folder is kept, then a copy of the email is saved at that address. Also, just to clarify, the handling of email is designated on a domain level. You can set email to be handled locally (under the MX Settings), or it can be set to be handled remotely by another mail server. Fairly often, when domains are moved, the mail service may stay with a remote server, but the setting for mail is mistakenly changed to local. This is a common cause of the “No Such User Here” error, because the local mail server is looking for the user on the local server and it cannot be found. Likewise, if the email service is moved to the local server (or vice versa with settings for a Remote server), but the user is NOT created, then that error will occur. I hope that helps clarify the forwarding behavior and common causes for the “No such user here” error.

      If you have any further questions or comments, please let us know.

      Regards,
      Arnel C.

  7. I think there’s a fifth reason one might get a “550 No Such User Here” error. I use Sendgrid (a third party) to handle my WordPress email on my InMotion dedicated server. I had my FROM address set to [email protected], and I was trying to send TO [email protected] (assuming the site is at “domain.com”). If the sending address doesn’t exist, and you are sending to another address on your domain, your email may bounce with the 550 error message. Interestingly, sending FROM [email protected] to [email protected] works, even though [email protected] is a forward-only account (like [email protected], [email protected] also doesn’t exist). So the solution here is to use the same FROM and TO email address.

  8. I am getting following error in webmail

    SMTP Error: [550] “This account is suspended from sending out mail [ Envelope From:]

    and I’m not able to send or receive mail , please guide me how to fix that 

    1. The account you are trying to send from has been suspended. I suggest you reach out to your host. If you host with us, please contact support.

  9. hello, 

       im not able to send ior recive emails in my blue host rseller , when i send from gmail to my server i get beliow message 

    The error that the other server returned was:
    550 No Such User Here”

     

    what shall i do please ?

     

    Rergards

    1. That error is pretty specific. You need to contact Blue Host to ensure the account (email account more specifically) is actually created on the server.

  10. This message was created automatically by mail delivery software.

A message that you sent could not be delivered to one or more of its
recipients. This is a permanent error. The following address(es) failed:

  [email protected]
  No Such User Here

    Mails are coming in gmail/yahoo/hotmail

    1. Sounds like you are being spoofed and someone is sending emails with a return address that is yours. So when the email bounces, the no-such-user-here email goes to you.

  11.  

    This is the only failure information I received from a message I sent to a group of addresses.  I cannot ascertain which address is bad.  Is there a method whereby I can pinpoint that information?  I found nothing that hinted at which addressee mailbox was “unavailable.”  (This is not a commercial mailing.) 

    [Return Code 550] sid: Zbrk1t00526qLEv01 :: Requested action not taken: mailbox unavailable

     

     

     

     

     

  12.  
    I dealt with the above options but I keep getting this error
     
    This is the mail system at host usve112430.serverprofi24.com.

    I’m sorry to have to inform you that your message could not
    be delivered to one or more recipients. It’s attached below.

    For further assistance, please send mail to postmaster.

    If you do so, please include this problem report. You can
    delete your own text from the attached returned message.

                       The mail system

    <[email protected]>: host
        serviciosparatuempresa.com[104.152.110.74] said: 550-Verification failed
        for <[email protected]> 550-No Such User Here 550 Sender verify failed (in
        reply to RCPT TO command)

    Reporting-MTA: dns; usve112430.serverprofi24.com
    X-Postfix-Queue-ID: 1B1FB2216F
    X-Postfix-Sender: rfc822; [email protected]
    Arrival-Date: Sat, 19 Mar 2016 22:03:33 +0000 (UTC)

    Final-Recipient: rfc822; [email protected]
    Original-Recipient: rfc822;[email protected]
    Action: failed
    Status: 5.0.0
    Remote-MTA: dns; serviciosparatuempresa.com
    Diagnostic-Code: smtp; 550-Verification failed for <[email protected]> 550-No
        Such User Here 550 Sender verify failed

    1. Hello,

      The error gives a message of “No Such User Here”. This means that the receiving server is no longer able to recognize the email address you attempted to send a message to. This is not usually anything to do with the sending side, unless the email address has been misspelled.

      Kindest Regards,
      Scott M

  13. Hi there,

     

    my Roundcube webmail isnt sending or recieving emails. The error message reads –

    STMP error (550) failed to add recipient

    (5.1.8 <[email protected]>: sender adress rejected : domain not found).

    Help!! I run a small business and this email is linked to my website, I have no IT tech guy to fix this for me! Any advice is massivly appreciated!

     

    Thanks.

     

    1. Hello Amelia,

      Sorry you’re having problems with email sending AND receiving. If you’re getting a “domain not found error” and you’re trying to send email from an account with the domain not pointed to that account, or there’s something going on with the domain name itself. In this case, the domain is SUSPENDED according to a WHOIS query. Here is my query result for the headingleyballetschool.co.uk domain:

      whois headingleyballetschool.co.uk
      [Querying whois.nic.uk]
      [whois.nic.uk]

      Domain name:
      headingleyballetschool.co.uk

      Registrant:
      amelia bell

      Registrant type:
      UK Individual

      Registrant’s address:
      The registrant is a non-trading individual who has opted to have their
      address omitted from the WHOIS service.

      Data validation:
      Nominet was not able to match the registrant’s name and/or address again st a 3rd party source on 07-Oct-2014

      Registrar:
      Gandi [Tag = GANDI]
      URL: https://www.gandi.net

      Relevant dates:
      Registered on: 26-Sep-2013
      Expiry date: 26-Sep-2015
      Last updated: 07-Oct-2014

      Registration status:
      Renewal required.
      *** This registration has been SUSPENDED. ***

      Name servers:
      a.dns.gandi.net
      b.dns.gandi.net
      c.dns.gandi.net

      WHOIS lookup made at 14:22:36 30-Oct-2015

      As you can see, the registration status indicates the domain is suspended. Use of the domain name for email or other internet functions will not operate until the domain is placed back in good standing with the current domain registrar.

      I hope this helps to answer your question, please let us know if you require any further assistance.

      Regards,
      Arnel C.

  14. hi,

    when i send email to [email protected] i get following message

    Google tried to deliver your message, but it was rejected by the server for the recipient domain dewsoftech.com by mx00.1and1.com

    and when other party try to send me email they get

    550 invalid DNS MX or A/AAAA resource record

    please let me know who need to fix this and how

    your reply is appreicated.

    1. Hello Sameer,

      It does sound like you’re using Google’s service to send email. If so, then your MX records (if controlled at InMotion), should be set to REMOTE. Check out this article on how to make that setting.

      If you have any further questions or comments, please let us know.

      Regards,
      Arnel C.

  16. Please Help, 

     

    Mails not working

     

    Delivery to the following recipient failed permanently:

         [email protected]

    Technical details of permanent failure:
    Google tried to deliver your message, but it was rejected by the server for the recipient domain gtholidays.in by mail.gtholidays.in. [118.91.232.74].

    The error that the other server returned was:
    550 <suresh_elangovan@gtholidays.in> No such user here

    —– Original message —–

    DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed;
            d=gtholidays.in; s=google;
            h=mime-version:in-reply-to:references:date:message-id:subject:from:to
             :content-type;
            bh=egxIjJUqoZvo4LvxUUPbXxed6XBvy9zfm89rN0uvdw8=;
            b=NggyCIirYstaiiCtWnZUhZ+mOH5iv/V4pzSlTK/orP/ftTR/FHHk5z3a7pkLHQAx/y
             XaxxFzhUAxbAk6ye/amqsLdKlsuQgA5M6yRWcRYlkQWf7BLQUv3gk17xW9fgJwFF1p92
             AVOfbbTZ2ZSKS2l7O5oBj+jlHWdq9TWjAk0jQ=
            h=x-gm-message-state:mime-version:in-reply-to:references:date
             :message-id:subject:from:to:content-type;
            bh=egxIjJUqoZvo4LvxUUPbXxed6XBvy9zfm89rN0uvdw8=;
            b=V17SFIhPJlQWTfxE1WjjugXyw8d66B7nJJ9QqdSWw7Jh948Toy2C+bXZmezA75WsFk
             7NcDpVxYYqiOTesIWGOifU2Kt6LB6qa+a3QbHh5V3S+7FySgB3JMxRlTncpSslk4l9Ct
             ET0NBXmH/bJs37w/1fVxscLxJoBKxmh1aDgXPgNPrfm7gY/G2Hp+crXg8zHh8aLMoxgd
             Kos2UkELSBqR58RiacfTG0R2/eTlDbZoCZrqNARjP8w7aOSHsiIkFB1HHhKbBOQhD2a2
             C0qIFgyZrpO2WZfI5gHa6UfdgPtctbvKZHfRRDiAVNpp+NZkyhoHqETAnZUxdwDBmpUN
             5Xwg==
    X-Gm-Message-State: ALoCoQmwPAkXqsPWXOljZAnb2G0/uH9Epk8c+SUwJZwem0x00s13YXC7B2stfcwKTLc0tNdxZwbq
    MIME-Version: 1.0
    X-Received: by 10.152.25.227 with SMTP id f3mr12386065lag.67.1435561260898;
     Mon, 29 Jun 2015 00:01:00 -0700 (PDT)
    Received: by 10.114.22.132 with HTTP; Mon, 29 Jun 2015 00:01:00 -0700 (PDT)
    X-Originating-IP: [117.203.101.157]
    In-Reply-To: <CADAPHL-Xy5ioJUPod6NASfr79dqb1N7s8_[email protected].com>
    References: <CADAPHL8x_i2h3wrWx8xz=29UbnoGo60gXL8WTcoVWNCSpMGCKw@mail.gmail.com>
            <CADAPHL-Xy5ioJUPod6NASfr79dqb1N7s8_[email protected].com>
    Date: Mon, 29 Jun 2015 12:31:00 +0530
    Message-ID: <CADAPHL-0rERCKe0PpL126pdWo_5s=+Y_=kdnD5H05C9CihyS8Q@mail.gmail.com>
    Subject: Re: test
    From: “GT Holidays (P) Ltd” <[email protected]>
    To: Suresh Elangovan <suresh_elangovan@gtholidays.in>
    Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary=089e0160bc440272300519a2a739

    empty

    On Mon, Jun 29, 2015 at 12:30 PM, GT Holidays (P) Ltd <[email protected]>
    wrote:

    > test
    >
    > On Mon, Jun 29, 2015 at 12:30 PM, GT Holidays (P) Ltd <[email protected]>
    > wrote:
    >
    >> test
    >>
    >
    >

    1. Hello Suresh,

      It appears you are getting this error when trying to send the email to another server. You will want to check out our article aboce, but the most relevant information from that article is below:

      “If you get “550 No Such User Here” bounces sending from your server to another server, you most likely will need to contact the host or email administrator of the server you are emailing to fix it.”

      Kindest Regards,
      Scott M

  17. Very happy to report that this issue was resolved with the help of Aaron at Inmotion support.  Too much for me to fully understand or explain which is why I am grateful for the quick, knowledgeable assisatance.  Many thanks!

  18. 1.  I can send and receive e-mail from my Outlook 2010 account:  [email protected]

    2.  I have four other Outlook accounts.  I can not send e-mail to my real-cos email address from any of them.  I receive an immediate “550 no such user here” message.

    3.  I receive e-mails forward from my real-cos account to my rcngroup account in Outlook 2010.

    4.  I do not receive e-mails to my Outlook based or webmail real-cos from my yhaoo account or from contact forms on my webstsites.

    Will app reciate your assistance.

    Thank you.

     

     

  19. I am getting the following error: :

     

    This is the mail system at host outbound.mailhostbox.com.

     

    I’m sorry to have to inform you that your message could not be delivered to one or more recipients. It’s attached below.

     

    For further assistance, please send mail to postmaster.

     

    If you do so, please include this problem report. You can delete your own text from the attached returned message.

     

                       The mail system

     

    <[email protected]>: host augur-me.com[192.185.137.220] said: 550 No Such

     

        User Here (in reply to RCPT TO command)

     

    Please provide the solution.

    1. Hello Sanjeev,

      Did you try the instructions above to fix your error? If so, and you are still getting the error, you may need to contact your hosting company. The dig records are showing your domain is with GoDaddy. You may need to contact them if you are certain you have gone over the instructions and the email address exists on the server.

      Kindest Regards,
      Scott M

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