SMTP 552 5.2.2
mailbox full
SMTP 552 5.2.2 means the recipient's mailbox is over its storage quota and the server will not accept the message. Although it is a 5xx permanent code, the cause is usually temporary in practice — the mailbox is real and will accept mail again once the recipient clears space.
Should you remove the address?
Suppress the address if it keeps failing
Suppress it rather than delete it straight away. A full mailbox can be emptied, but one that stays full across sends is almost always abandoned, and repeated bounces from it still count against you.
Hard bounce. Do not retry. It will fail every time.
How it appears
552 5.2.2 Requested mail action aborted: exceeded storage allocation
552 5.2.2 <[email protected]>: Recipient address rejected: mailbox full
What causes it
- The recipient has exceeded their storage quota and has not cleared it.
- The mailbox is abandoned and filling with mail nobody reads.
- A shared or role mailbox has grown past its allocation.
How to fix it
In order — try the first one first.
- Retry later rather than deleting immediately — the address itself is valid.
- If it persists for weeks, treat it as abandoned and remove it. A permanently full mailbox is functionally a dead address, and often an early sign of a recycled spam trap.
- Do not keep hammering it. Some providers escalate a repeatedly refused message to a reputation signal.
Who sends it
Gmail sends 552 5.2.2 for a full mailbox it considers inactive. Microsoft 365 uses 5.2.2 for its own "Submission quota exceeded" error, which is about your outbound limits, not the recipient.
Gmail
Reply text The recipient's inbox is out of storage space and inactive.
Gmail pairs the full mailbox with inactivity in the permanent version.
Microsoft 365
Provider's description Submission quota exceeded
Not a full mailbox. Microsoft says the sender exceeded the recipient rate limit or message rate limit, and that it can indicate a compromised account.
Common questions
- What does SMTP 552 5.2.2 mean?
- SMTP 552 5.2.2 means the recipient's mailbox is over its storage quota and the server will not accept the message. Although it is a 5xx permanent code, the cause is usually temporary in practice — the mailbox is real and will accept mail again once the recipient clears space.
- Should I retry a 552 5.2.2 error?
- No. 552 is a permanent failure, so the message will never be delivered no matter how many times you try. Remove the address — repeated sends to permanent failures are one of the main signals mailbox providers use to throttle a sender.
- How do I fix SMTP 552 5.2.2?
- Retry later rather than deleting immediately — the address itself is valid.
- Is 552 5.2.2 a hard bounce or a soft bounce?
- 552 5.2.2 is a hard bounce. The receiving side has said the address can't receive mail, so a retry won't deliver it. Do not retry. It will fail every time.
- Should I remove the address after a 552 5.2.2 bounce?
- Suppress it rather than delete it straight away. A full mailbox can be emptied, but one that stays full across sends is almost always abandoned, and repeated bounces from it still count against you.
- Will verifying my list prevent 552 5.2.2?
- Sometimes. A mailbox check can see a full mailbox when the server reports it during the check, and flags the address as risky. Servers that only reject at delivery time can't be caught in advance.
Clean the list before the next send.
A bounce report only tells you about the addresses you already mailed. The rest of the list has the same kinds of dead mailboxes in it, and each one becomes a hard bounce recorded against your domain the moment you send.
- A real SMTP mailbox check on every row, before anything is sent
- Dead and mistyped addresses split out, so they never reach your sending tool
- Catch-all, disposable and role addresses flagged alongside
Plans from $9 a month, cancel anytime, no contract. Sign in with Google and your first 100 email checks are free, no card. The free tools stay free either way.
Other 552 replies
Sources
- Source: Google Workspace Admin Help: Gmail SMTP errors and codes
- Source: Microsoft Learn: Email non-delivery reports and SMTP errors in Exchange Online
- Source: RFC 3463: Enhanced Mail System Status Codes
Provider wording is quoted only where the provider publishes it.
Last reviewed 2026-10-22