SORBS Shut Down: What To Do With an Old Listing

SORBS shut down in June 2024. If an old report says your sending IP is listed, don't spend your afternoon looking for a SORBS delisting form. Start by checking whether that report describes a current delivery problem.

A fresh rejection can still mention an old service name. The useful evidence is the exact response from the receiving server, the IP that sent the message and the rule that rejected it.

Quick answer

• Check when the SORBS result was collected and whether the tool still queries a retired list.
• If mail is being rejected now, save the complete SMTP response and identify the sending IP.
• Ask the receiving administrator to investigate any rule that still references SORBS.
• Use current blacklist, authentication and inbox placement checks to investigate the sender separately.

What happened to SORBS?

SORBS was a DNS-based blacklist service. In the SORBS closure announcement, Michelle Sullivan said Proofpoint was retiring the service and would empty its zones.

HetrixTools documented the empty zones on June 6, 2024, confirmed the shutdown in its June 8 update and removed the SORBS lists from its checker on June 10. A historical SORBS result is therefore not a current assessment of your sender.

Check whether the warning is still relevant

An archived report, cached dashboard result or old support ticket can outlive the service behind it. Check the result's date and the tool's current list coverage before changing your sending configuration.

If you administer a mail gateway, review any SORBS entries in its blacklist configuration with the person responsible for filtering. Retired checks need attention, but removing one is not a reason to disable the gateway's other spam protections.

If today's rejection mentions SORBS

Save the full SMTP response, including the code, receiving server and any named blacklist or rule. Confirm the actual sending IP from your provider's delivery logs or a received message's headers; the IP behind your website may be unrelated.

Share that evidence with the receiving administrator or your email provider. Ask whether a legacy SORBS rule, locally stored result or outdated error message is involved. Don't assume the wording proves that SORBS made a new listing decision.

Investigate the sender using current results

An obsolete SORBS warning doesn't rule out a separate delivery problem. Work from a message sent through the affected service:

1. Inspect its sending IP, relay chain and authentication results with the email header analyzer.
2. Check current results for that sender with the email blacklist checker. Match any finding to the receiver's actual rejection rather than assuming every listing blocks every recipient.
3. Check the domain's SPF, DKIM and DMARC records against the service that sent the message.
4. Review recent complaints, bounces, audience imports and provider changes if the current evidence points to a reputation problem.

If a current report names SpamCop, investigate that result on its own terms. An old SORBS entry does not establish why another service flagged your sender.

After a fix, send through the same provider again and check the response. Use an inbox placement test to see where the message lands at the tested providers, or follow the broader email deliverability test workflow. A clean blacklist result alone doesn't prove inbox delivery.

Related pages

• Email deliverability issues
• Why emails go to spam
• Email blacklist checker

FAQ

Is SORBS still operating?

No. The service shut down in June 2024. Its name can remain in historical reports and older filtering configurations.

Can an old SORBS result explain a current rejection?

Not by itself. Read the current rejection and ask the receiving administrator which rule caused it, especially if the response still names SORBS.

Should I check the domain or the IP first?

For an IP-based blacklist warning, identify the IP that actually sent the message. Use the received headers or your provider's logs rather than your website's DNS address.

Do I need to request SORBS delisting?

There is no active SORBS listing process to resolve. Investigate stale reports or filtering rules, fix any separate issue supported by current evidence, and test delivery again.