5.7.2: not allowed to send to this list
The sender is not authorised to post to the mailing list it wrote to, so the list refused the message.
- Standard
- Provider
- Permanent (5xx)
- Class
- Sources checked
- Author
At a glance
- Code
- 5.7.2
- Provider
- Standard SMTP codes
- Temporary or permanent
- PermanentRefused for good: the message comes back to the sender, and resending it gets the same answer.
- Who has to act
- Either side, depending on the cause. Start with the checks below that are yours.
- What the server says
5.7.2 Mailing list expansion prohibited
What it means
X.7.2 is the policy counterpart of X.2.4: the list works, but this sender may not use it. Many lists accept posts only from members, from moderators, or from addresses inside the organisation. RFC 3463 calls it useful only as a permanent error, and the registry pairs it with reply code 550, so 5.7.2 is what you see and the message is returned. Frequent triggers are posting from another address than the one subscribed, or an outside sender writing to an internal distribution group.
Common causes
- The list accepts posts only from its members and your address is not subscribed.
- You posted from another address (an alias or a second account) than the one on the list.
- An internal distribution group that refuses senders from outside the organisation.
How to fix it
- 01Send from the exact address that is subscribed to the list.
- 02Ask the list owner to add your address or to approve your message.
- 03Recipient admins: allow outside senders on the group if outside mail is expected.
Sources
What this page rests on, checked on 20 Oct 2026. The explanation is ours; the reply text is the server's.
Related codes
- 5.2.4Mailing list could not be expanded.The address is a mailing list, and the server could not turn it into the list of member addresses, so the message did not go out to the list.
- 5.7.1Delivery not authorised.The receiving server refuses the message because this sender is not allowed to send to this recipient, as a result of filtering by host or by recipient.
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