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Standard SMTP codes · permanent error

5.7.18: domain owner has changed

Under an RRVS check, the receiving system reports that the recipient's domain has changed owner since the date the sender gave, so the message was refused.

Standard
Provider
Permanent (5xx)
Class
Sources checked
By , email deliverability consultant
Author

At a glance

Code
5.7.18
Temporary or permanent
PermanentRefused for good: the message comes back to the sender, and resending it gets the same answer.
Who has to act
The sender. The fix is on the sending side: your domain, your server or your list.
What the server says
5.7.18 Domain owner has changed

What it means

X.7.18 is the domain-level version of X.7.17. With RFC 7293's Require-Recipient-Valid-Since, the sender states when it last knew the address was right; the receiver may disclose that the domain itself has passed to a new owner since then, in which case the address almost certainly reaches someone else. The registry gives it a 5xx reply code. It guards against mail to lapsed and re-registered domains reaching whoever registered them next. Treat every address at that domain as doubtful until its owner confirms it.

Common causes

  • The domain expired and was registered by someone else.
  • The domain was sold or transferred to another organisation.

How to fix it

  1. 01Stop sending to addresses at that domain.
  2. 02Ask the affected customers for a current address through another channel.
  3. 03Review the other addresses on your list at the same domain.

Sources

What this page rests on, checked on 20 Oct 2026. The explanation is ours; the reply text is the server's.

  1. 5.7.17Mailbox owner has changed.The message asked to be delivered only if the recipient address had the same owner since a given date, and the receiving system says it has changed hands.StandardPermanent
  2. 5.7.19Ownership check could not be done.The message asked the receiver to check how long the recipient had owned the mailbox, and the receiver could not, because it has no record of that date.StandardPermanent

All 105 standard codesEvery code in the wikiPaste your own bounce

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