Blacklist wiki · Major
Spamhaus ZEN
Spamhaus ZEN is the most widely used DNS blacklist in the world. It combines multiple Spamhaus lists into a single query: SBL (known spam sources), XBL (exploited systems), and PBL (policy block list for dynamic/residential IPs). Being listed on Spamhaus can severely impact your email deliverability across most major providers.
- Zone
- Major
- Tier
- Author
At a glance
- Zone
- zen.spamhaus.org
- Tier
- Major. Consulted directly by the big mailbox providers and mail gateways. A listing here can block your mail almost everywhere, so a scan reports it as critical.
- What it lists
- Known spam sources, compromised/exploited hosts, and IP ranges that should not be sending unauthenticated email (e.g., residential or dynamic IPs).
- Impact
- Very High: used by the majority of email providers worldwide. A listing here can block your emails almost everywhere.
- How to check
- Look your IP up on the operator's own site. It refuses queries sent through public resolvers, so a free checker may not see it.
- How to delist
- 5 steps below, ending on the list's removal page.
- Auto-expiry
- XBL listings auto-expire once the exploit is cleaned. SBL listings require manual removal. PBL listings are policy-based.
How to get delisted
- 01Visit the Spamhaus IP lookup tool at check.spamhaus.org
- 02Enter your IP address and check which specific list you appear on (SBL, XBL, or PBL)
- 03For SBL listings: Identify and stop the spam source, then submit a removal request via the form
- 04For XBL listings: Clean the malware/exploit from your system, and the listing will auto-expire once resolved
- 05For PBL listings: This is a policy listing. Configure your mail server to relay through your ISP's SMTP server, or request removal if you run a legitimate mail server
Open the removal formhttps://check.spamhaus.org/listed/