OFR_20x: invalid HELO/EHLO name
Orange refused your mail because the HELO/EHLO name your server announces is not valid: it must be a fully qualified domain name that resolves.
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At a glance
- Code
- OFR_20x
- Who has to act
- The sender. The fix is on the sending side: your domain, your server or your list.
What it means
Orange lists its HELO errors as 20x, without spelling out the individual codes. Your server opens every SMTP session by naming itself in HELO or EHLO, and Orange requires that name to be a fully qualified domain name (FQDN) such as mail.yourdomain.com, which should resolve in DNS. A bare host name, localhost, an IP address or a name with no DNS record fails the check. Set a proper name on the server and publish its DNS record before sending again.
Common causes
- The server announces localhost, a bare host name or an internal name.
- The HELO name has no DNS record.
- The HELO name is taken from a default configuration that was never changed.
How to fix it
- 01Set the HELO/EHLO name to a fully qualified host name in your domain, such as mail.yourdomain.com.
- 02Publish an A record for that name, ideally matching the PTR record of the IP.
- 03If you changed DNS recently, allow time for caches to expire before retrying; Orange notes that TTLs are typically up to 24 hours.
Sources
What this page rests on, checked on 20 Oct 2026. The explanation is ours; the reply text is the server's.
- Orange Postmaster Page (SMTP Delivery Guidelines and Error Codes)postmaster.orange.fr
Related codes
- OFR_107No reverse DNS for your IP.Orange refused your mail because your sending IP has no PTR record (reverse DNS). The PTR name must resolve back to the same IP.
- 550HELO name not accepted.GMX refused your mail because the HELO name your server announces is not a resolvable host name, or is on the GMX internal HELO blocklist.
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