Gmail and Google Workspace · permanent error
550 5.5.3: too many recipients for this sender
Gmail refused further recipients because this sender has gone over the number of recipients Gmail will accept from it.
- Gmail
- Provider
- Permanent (5xx)
- Class
- Sources checked
- Author
At a glance
- Code
- 550 5.5.3
- Provider
- Gmail and Google Workspace
- 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
550 5.5.3 Too many recipients for this sender.
What it means
Gmail limits how many recipients it accepts from one sender, and this reply refuses those beyond that point. Unlike 452 4.5.3, which defers the extra recipients of a message for a retry, this reply is permanent for the recipients it refuses. Google gives no number in the reply and refers senders to RFC 5321. Send fewer recipients per message and per transaction, and use a mailing list, a group or a bulk sending service for large audiences.
Common causes
- A message with a very long recipient list.
- Software that puts many recipients in one transaction instead of splitting them.
How to fix it
- 01Split the recipient list into smaller batches, each in its own transaction.
- 02Resend to the refused recipients once the batches are smaller.
- 03For large audiences, use a Google Group, a mailing list or a dedicated sending service.
Sources
What this page rests on, checked on 20 Oct 2026. The explanation is ours; the reply text is the server's.
- Gmail SMTP errors and codes (Google Workspace Admin Help)knowledge.workspace.google.com
Related codes
- 452 4.5.3Too many recipients.Your message lists more recipients than Gmail accepts at once, so the extra recipients are deferred and need to go in a separate transaction.
- 550Mailbox unavailable.The receiving server permanently refused the message for this recipient: the mailbox does not exist, cannot be reached, or the server rejected the message by policy.
- 4.5.3Too many recipients.The message lists more recipients than the server accepts in one transaction; the remaining recipients have to be sent in a separate transaction.
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