Free tool · No signup
Blacklist check: is your domain or mail server listed?
Enter your domain to check it on 3 domain blacklists and its mail servers on 6 IP blacklists, 9 lists in all, with what to do if anything is listed. Free, no signup.
Opens at the blacklist result, inside the full report for your domain: MX, SPF, DKIM, DMARC, 9 blacklists and domain age, graded 0 to 100.
The basics
What a blacklist listing means
Blacklists (also called blocklists or DNSBLs) are lists of domains and IP addresses seen sending spam. Mail servers and spam filters look them up while deciding where an email goes, so a listing can send your cold email to spam or get it rejected outright.
What this check looks at
- Your domain on Spamhaus DBL, SURBL, URIBL.
- The IP addresses of your mail servers (the top 3 MX hosts, up to 4 addresses) on Spamhaus ZEN, Barracuda, SpamCop, UCEPROTECT L1, PSBL, Mailspike.
- Spamhaus Zero Reputation Domains, which flags domains first seen in DNS in the last 24 hours.
Problems and fixes
What the checker can find, and the fix it gives you.
| Problem | Fix |
|---|---|
| Domain listed | Stop sending from this domain, find the cause (purchased lists, compromised forms) and request delisting on each list's site. |
| Mail server IP listed | Your mail host's IP is listed. Ask your provider, or request delisting on the list's site. |
| A list did not answer | Lists sometimes time out. Run the check again in a minute. |
The honest part
What this check can't tell you.
This check covers 9 lists. Tools that check a hundred or more add many smaller lists; if a receiver names one of those in a bounce, look it up there too.
More free checks
Check the rest of your setup.
- Full domain check MX, SPF, DKIM, DMARC, 9 blacklists and domain age in one report, graded 0 to 100.
- MX lookup Free MX lookup: see your domain's MX records in priority order, which provider receives your mail, and whether its mail servers are on 6 IP blacklists. No signup.
- SPF checker Free SPF checker: look up your SPF record, count its DNS lookups against the limit of 10 and get the exact fix for each problem. No signup.
- DMARC checker Free DMARC checker: find your DMARC record, read its policy and report address, and get the exact fix. Gmail and Yahoo require DMARC from bulk senders.
- DKIM checker Free DKIM checker: we look for your DKIM key on 23 common selectors (Google, Microsoft 365, Zoho and more) or your own. No signup.
Questions
Ballast is cold email software with every feature on every plan. Connect unlimited mailboxes, send sequences at a pace your domains survive, and handle replies in one inbox, priced by the emails you send.
Is my domain blacklisted?
Enter it above. We check it on Spamhaus DBL, SURBL, URIBL, and the IPs of its mail servers on Spamhaus ZEN, Barracuda, SpamCop, UCEPROTECT L1, PSBL, Mailspike. Each listing comes with what to do next.
How do I get off a blacklist?
Find and stop the cause first: a bought list, a compromised signup form or a sudden jump in volume. Then request removal on the list's own website; most have a lookup and delisting page. Requesting removal before fixing the cause usually gets you listed again.
My mail server's IP is listed but my domain isn't. What now?
If you send through Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, the IP belongs to them; tell their support. On your own server or host, request delisting on the list's site after checking the server isn't relaying spam.
Ballast runs this check every night.
For every domain you send from, with sending that pauses before a problem costs you the inbox. Every feature on every plan, from $19 a month.