554: date header is far from the real time
GMX refused the message because the date and time in its Date header are implausible, too far from the actual time. Correct the clock on the server or client.
- GMX, WEB.DE
- Provider
- Permanent (5xx)
- Class
- Sources checked
- Author
At a glance
- Code
- 554
- Provider
- GMX, WEB.DE and mail.com
- 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
554 Transaction failed
What it means
Every message carries a Date header (RFC 5322) set by the program that wrote it. Case r0701 means the time in that header deviates too much from the real time, which GMX treats as implausible and refuses with 554. The usual cause is a clock that is wrong on the sending server or on the device the user writes from, or a wrong time zone. GMX asks you to correct the date, time and time zone on both, after which the mail is accepted again.
Common causes
- The clock of the sending server or client device is wrong.
- The time zone is set incorrectly, shifting the time by hours.
- An application writes a fixed or stale date into messages.
How to fix it
- 01Set the server and client clocks from a time server (NTP).
- 02Check the time zone settings on both.
- 03If an application builds the message, make it write the current time.
- 04Send the message again.
Sources
What this page rests on, checked on 20 Oct 2026. The explanation is ours; the reply text is the server's.
Related codes
- 554A header field has invalid syntax.GMX refused the message because a header, such as Date, From, Sender, Subject or To, is not written the way RFC 5322 and RFC 2047 require.
- 554Transaction failed.The server permanently refused the transaction, often after receiving the message data or straight away when the connection opened.
554 at other providers
- 554Permanent rejection (554).Yahoo or AOL rejected the message for good with a 554. Yahoo uses this code for several problems, from failed authentication to unacceptable content, so the wording of the reply tells you which.
- 554Failed authentication.Yahoo or AOL refused the message because it failed the checks that confirm the sending domain, such as DKIM against the domain's policy. Yahoo lists this among its permanent 553 and 554 errors.
- 554Recipient does not exist.The Yahoo or AOL account you wrote to does not exist. The failure is permanent: check the address with the recipient, and remove it from any list.
- 554No reverse DNS (PTR) record.Xfinity refused the connection because your sending IP has no PTR record. Every server sending to Xfinity needs valid reverse DNS, so the owner of the IP must add one.
- 554No reverse DNS for your IP.IONOS refused your mail because the IP address of your mail server has no domain name assigned to it in DNS (no PTR record).
- 554Reverse DNS does not meet IONOS policy.IONOS refused your mail because the PTR record of your IP does not meet its policy, typically a generic or dynamic-looking provider name.
Further reading
All 57 GMX, WEB.DE codesEvery code in the wikiPaste your own bounce